Two Iraqi policemen wounded in Baghdad gun battle
More than a dozen gunmen launched an assault on a Baghdad police station early today, wounding two policemen and causing some damage to the building.
About 15 men in three cars opened fire at the station in Baghdad’s Aamil neighbourhood, said police 1st Lieutenant Thaar Mahmoud. The gun battle lasted about 20 minutes, he said.
Extremists have in recent weeks mostly targeted the Iraqi security forces at the forefront of government counterinsurgency operations – both in an effort to shatter their morale and prevent recruits from signing up.
Sunni Arabs make up the core of Iraq’s insurgency, and the minority has felt politically embittered by the rise of the Shiites and the Kurds – two communities that account for about 80% of the country’s estimated 26 million people. Many Sunni Arabs boycotted January’s historic elections.
Elsewhere, a roadside bomb exploded near an American patrol north of Baqouba, causing no damage or injuries, police Col. Ali al-Timimi said. Baqouba is 35 miles north-east of Baghdad.
The number of insurgent attacks has escalated since Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari announced his Shiite-led government on April 28.
At least 1,189 people have been killed since then, according to military, police and hospital reports.
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