Sat Sep 21, 2013 18:36:56
Six Iraqi SWAT officers have been killed as four suicide bombers attacked the police headquarters in a town north of Baghdad, security sources say.
The suicide bombers storming the police headquarters at dawn on Saturday shot dead the guards outside the compound in the town of Baiji, 180 km (112 miles) from Baghdad. One of them was killed in the ensuing fighting inside the base and the other three blew themselves up when army reinforcements arrived.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but security forces and police are prime targets for militants who have been regaining momentum in their insurgency against Iraq's government.
Al-Qaeda's Iraqi and Syrian branches merged earlier this year to form the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which has claimed responsibility for attacks on both sides of the border.
Escalation of violence has raised concerns of a return to an all-out conflict in Iraq.
About 800 Iraqis were killed in acts of violence in August, according to the United Nations.
RA/HH
string(1015) "[{"id":"1510615","sort":"3095157","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/08/28/alalam_635132957045813267_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Another bloody day in Iraq leaves 56 dead"} ,{"id":"1513117","sort":"3095158","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/09/03/alalam_635138377633998657_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Blasts, attacks leave 40 dead across Iraq"} ,{"id":"1516766","sort":"3095159","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/09/14/alalam_635147909625778643_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Suicide bomber kills 26 in Iraq’s Nineveh"} ,{"id":"1517005","sort":"3095160","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/09/15/alalam_635148708324296822_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Bomb blasts hit 9 Iraqi cities, towns, kill 36"} ,{"id":"1517833","sort":"3095161","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/09/18/alalam_635151035267136781_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Car bomb kills child, wounds dozens in northeast Iraq"} ,{"id":"1518557","sort":"3095162","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2013/09/20/alalam_635152879074047478_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"At least 16 killed in Iraq mosque blasts"} ]"