|
At least 23 Iraqis die in spate of attacks
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-23 08:32
Insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades at a policeman's home northeast of Baghdad on Sunday, killing his four children and his brother and raising to at least 23 the number of Iraqis killed in attacks this weekend.
Also Sunday, police found the bullet-riddled bodies of nearly two dozen men abducted last week north of Baghdad after being rejected entry into a police academy, officials said.
The violence continued as Iraq's political parties began gearing up for talks on a new coalition government that U.S. officials hope will win the confidence of disaffected Sunni Arabs and undermine support for the insurgency. That would hasten the time when U.S. and other foreign troops can go home.
There was still no word on the fate of kidnapped American journalist Jill Carroll two days after a deadline set by her captors. They had threatened to kill the 28-year-old freelancer for The Christian Science Monitor unless all Iraqi women detainees were freed.
An Iraqi man cries for a wounded relative at the scene of a roadside bomb that targeted an Iraqi patrol, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq. [AP] |
Iraqi officials have said they expect the Americans to free six of the nine women they are holding this week. U.S. authorities have not confirmed the claim.
The attack on the policeman's home occurred in Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, according to the Iraqi police Joint Coordination Center. The officer's four children, ages 6 to 11, and his brother were killed, the center said. The officer was unharmed, but his wife was wounded.
Sunni-led insurgents often target police as part of their campaign to try to undermine support for the U.S.-backed government.
Four policemen were killed and nine were wounded Sunday when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol in the tense city of Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, police said. Police also said a man was gunned down at a west Baghdad gas station and another was slain in a market in the capital's Amil district.
The bodies of the 23 men were found partially buried near Dujail, about 50 miles north of Baghdad, said Interior Ministry police Lt. Thair Mahmoud. They had been abducted Wednesday while traveling from Baghdad to their homes in Samarra after failing to be accepted at a police recruit center.
|
