Killings, kidnap, arrests mark a new day in Iraq (Roundup)

Jun 27, 2007, 14:35 GMT

Baghdad - Killings, kidnaps and arrests marked a new bloody day in conflict-torn Iraq on Wednesday, with at least three Iraqis killed and 10 others wounded in northern Baghdad and 14 militants killed by their own explosives near Tikrit.

The three were killed when a booby-trapped car went off in the Shiite al-Suleikh region near a police patrol and a public market, independent news agency Voices of Iraq reported, adding that policemen were among the victims.

The attack targeted a police patrol and two police vehicles and also destroyed four civilian cars, a witness told Voices of Iraq.

Meanwhile, a US marine was reportedly killed while conducting a combat operation in Anbar province, west of the Iraqi capital, US-led coalition forces said in a statement Wednesday.

In other developments, Iraqi security forces killed 14 gunmen, captured 114 others and arrested two suspected militants in several areas of Baghdad during the past 24 hours under the Baghdad Fardh al-Qanoun (Law Enforcement) - security plan, sources said.

The forces managed also to free three captives, defuse two bombs and confiscate large amount of weapons and ammunition in different areas of Baghdad, mainly in Kadhimiyah City in northern Baghdad, the source added.

The statement also noted that eight Iraqi soldiers were killed and 29 others were injured, including an officer, in a combat mission.

The Fardh al-Qanoun security plan was launched by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and backed by the US forces in a bid to control the violence in Iraq.

In related news, fourteen militants were killed in northern Iraq on Wednesday when they accidentally blew themselves up in the Shurqat district, north of Tikrit.

Tikrit is the capital of Salahuddin province and is 140 kilometres north-west of the capital Baghdad.

Meanwhile, journalist Hamed Sarhan, 57, was shot dead Tuesday afternoon on his way home in southern Baghdad, Iraq's press syndicate president Shehab al-Tamimi said Wednesday.

For more than 30 years, Sarhan worked for many newspapers, local magazines and also for the Iraqi news agency. He is survived by his wife and five children.

According to Iraqi press syndicate statistics, about 230 Iraqi journalists have been killed since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

In Baquba, gunmen stopped a mini-bus carrying Iraqi students, kidnapping eight males, the Association of Muslim Scholars said Wednesday, adding that the kidnappers left the female students.

Baquba, capital of Diyala province, is 60 kilometres north of Baghdad. It has been witnessing fierce clashes between joint US-Iraqi forces and militants, and security crackdowns.

Also Wednesday, US-led coalition forces announced that one Iraqi civilian died of wounds and two were injured Monday resulting from crossfire between the forces and insurgents in Mosul city, 400 kilometres north of Baghdad. Eight houses were also damaged in the attack.