Anti-al-Qaeda militia killed in new Iraq attack

At least 19 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in central Iraq aimed at pro-government militia, officials say.

More than 40 people were injured in the blast in the town of Taji, about 20km (12 miles) north of Baghdad.

The majority of the victims were members of the Sunni Sahwa militia, which has been fighting al-Qaeda.

The attack comes a day after at least 16 people were killed in a raid on a police HQ in Kirkuk, northern Iraq.

 

'Pools of blood'

Monday's blast happened at about 11:00 local time (08:00 GMT), as the militiamen gathered to collect their pay.

The attacker is believed to have detonated his explosives belt among the crowd.

Army soldiers were also among the victims.

"We got a call there had been a huge blast at the Sahwa headquarters," local police officer Furat Faleh told Reuters news agency.

"People were lying bleeding all around and cash was scattered in pools of blood," he added.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Sahwa - or Awakening Council - are comprised of Sunni tribal members who sided with the US against al-Qaeda in 2006.

They have been often targeted by al-Qaeda-linked militants, who regard them as traitors.

Baghdad blasts leave 35 dead

Two bombs have exploded outside a government building north of Baghdad, killing at least 35 and wounded dozens of people.

A car bomb and another device detonated in the car park of the municipal building in Taji, 20km (12 miles) north of the capital.
Officials say the second device exploded as people tended to the victims of the first.

 Iraqi officials say a car bomb and another explosive went off Tuesday in the town of Taji, about 20 kilometers north of the capital. They say more than two dozen people were wounded in the blasts.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

On Sunday, attacks targeting Iraqi police and soldiers killed at least eight people, and a rocket attack on Baghdad's fortified Green Zone killed three women and two children.

Separately, the United States on Tuesday opened a consulate in the southern Iraqi port city of Basra, a burgeoning oil-industry hub.


The U.S. embassy is expanding its diplomatic presence in Iraq, as the U.S. military prepares to withdraw about 50,000 remaining troops from the country by the end of this year.

Violence in Iraq has dropped sharply since the peak of sectarian violence in 2006 to 2007. But Sunni insurgents and Shi'ite militias continue to carry out bombings and other attacks, many targeting Iraqi security forces.

3 government officials killed in Iraq

Three Iraqi government officials were assassinated by gunmen using pistols equipped with silencers in separate neighborhoods in the capital Saturday, officials with the Interior Ministry said.

Yousif Abdullatif, a Defense Ministry employee, was shot dead in the al-Jadriya neighborhood in central Baghdad, officials said.

Director General of the Iraqi Taxes Committee Foad Fadhel was killed in the al-Jamia neighborhood in western Baghdad, they said.

Mohammed Qassim, an officer working at the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, was shot dead by gunmen in the Mansour neighborhood in western Baghdad, the officials said.

Separately, in the Saydiya neighborhood in southwestern Baghdad, a sticky bomb attached to a civilian vehicle exploded, wounding two people inside the car.

Government figures show the death toll in Iraq has been rising.

In March, 247 Iraqis were killed, up from 197 people in February. Another 370 people were wounded in March.

Overall, violence in Iraq has dropped dramatically since the peak of the sectarian violence between 2005 and 2007, but mortar attacks, bombs and assassinations are still commonplace.

Suicide car bombs kill nine in Iraq

Two suicide car bombs have exploded in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killing nine people and wounding 25.

A security official said the cars were queuing to enter the Green Zone when they exploded. Iraqi soldiers were among the casualties.

The heavily fortified Green Zone houses many foreign embassies and Iraqi government offices.

These are the first suicide bombings in the capital this year.

Violence in Iraq has dropped significantly from the height of the insurgency five years ago, but almost daily shootings and killings still continue.

The attacks come amid preparations for an Arab summit in the international zone next month, though this is widely expected to be postponed because of the turmoil in the Arab world.

Iraqi gets 34 years for killing “too Westernized” daughter

An Arizona judge sentenced an Iraqi immigrant on Friday to more than 34 years in prison, about two months after his conviction for running over his 20-year-old daughter because he claimed she'd become "too Westernized."

A Maricopa County, Arizona, jury in February convicted Faleh Hassan Almaleki, 50, of one count of second-degree murder in the death of Noor Faleh Almaleki. He was also found guilty of aggravated assault for causing serious injuries to Amal Edan Khalaf, the mother of Noor's fiance, as well as two counts of leaving the scene.

On Friday, Judge Roland Steinle sentenced Almaleki to a total of 34½ years in the Arizona Department of Corrections for his crimes. That includes 16 years -- less than the maximum possible sentence of 22 years -- on the murder charge, which will be served concurrently with a 15-year aggravated assault sentence. In addition, Almaleki will get consecutive 3½-year terms for leaving the scene.

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery applauded the judge's decision, saying "Mr. Almaleki will have an appropriately long time in prison to ponder this truth."

"The killing of one's own child is more than just a violation of the law," Montgomery said in a press release. "It is an offense against parenthood itself and the awesome responsibility parents have for nurturing and protecting their children."

Noor Faleh Almaleki died in November 2009 at an Arizona hospital, nearly two weeks after being run over by a Jeep in a parking lot in the Phoenix suburb of Peoria, authorities said.

Faleh Hassan Almaleki believed his daughter had become "too Westernized" and had abandoned "traditional" Iraqi values, Peoria police said. The family moved to the Phoenix area in the mid-1990s, and Almaleki was unhappy with his daughter's style of dress and her resistance to his rules, according to police.

Khalaf testified that Almaleki made no effort to stop before she and Noor Almaleki were struck.

Defense attorneys said Faleh Almaleki was trying to spit on Khalaf, but swerved and ended up running down both women.
Almaleki chose not to testify in his trial.

After the incident, Almaleki drove to Mexico, abandoning his vehicle in Nogales, police said. He then made his way to Mexico City and boarded a plane to Britain, where authorities denied him entry into the country and put him on a plane back to the United States.