BAGHDAD: A coordinated attack on an army base north of Baghdad killed at least seven soldiers and wounded 22 others yesterday, security and medical officials said. The 8:30pm attack hit the base in the town of Tarmiyah, according to a police colonel and a medical official, both of whom spoke on condition of anonymity.
A police officer in the town said the attack began with mortar fire raining down on the base, spurring soldiers to leave the main gate to investigate. At that point the suicide bomber blew himself up, and the explosion was followed by a firefight between militants and soldiers, the officer said. Iraqi troops based in Tarmiyah have been targeted by militants on multiple occasions.
On November 7, two successive car bombs set off by suicide attackers at another nearby military installation killed 16 people and wounded dozens more.
The attack was the latest in a protracted nationwide surge in violence that has left nearly 6,000 people dead so far this year.
Israel forces kill two Palestinians
JERUSALEM: Israeli security forces killed yesterday night two Palestinians after attempting to arrest them near the West Bank city of Hebron, the Shin Bet internal security service said. “In an operation by the special forces... in the Hebron/Yatta area, two members of a Salafist jihadist network that was active in the area and planned an attack were killed,” it said in a statement.
A correspondent said the army had sealed off the area and was searching for a third suspect who apparently had been in a car with the two when the shooting took place.
Shin Bet said they found “two pistols and a number of demolition blocks (explosives)” in the car. Prior to Tuesday’s incident, “a number of members of the network were recently arrested” and based on their interrogation the Shin Bet established that “the members of the network planned a series of attacks against Israeli targets and the Palestinian Authority.”AFP
