Suicide bomber kills 3 at Iraqi army checkpoint February 5, 2013 - 15:02 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A suicide bomber detonated a car packed with explosives at an Iraqi army checkpoint north of Baghdad on Tuesday, Feb 5, killing at least three people, police said, in an apparent attempt to destabilize the Shi'ite-led government, Reuters reported. The blast in Taji, 20 km (12 miles) north of the capital, followed another suicide attack in the same town a day earlier that killed at least 22 people. It was the eighth suicide bombing in a month in Iraq, where insurgents are seeking to inflame tensions between Shi'ite, Sunni and ethnic Kurdish factions a year after U.S. troops pulled out of the country. "There were patches of blood, pieces of clothing and shoes scattered around the place," said policeman Furat Fleh, whose patrol was near the checkpoint at the time of the blast. "We heard shooting and shouting after the explosion". No group claimed responsibility for Tuesday's blast, but suicide bomb attacks are the hallmark of Iraq's local al Qaeda wing, Islamic State of Iraq, which has sent Sunni Islamist fighters and arms into Syria. Partner news  Top stories U.S. officials say they want to advance efforts to start talks between the Syrian government and opposition leaders. The international conference, backed by Russia and the U.S., aims to find a political solution to the conflict in Syria. Nuland, a career foreign service officer who was until recently State's top spokesperson, was expected to be nominated the post. Alkhatib said Assad should respond within 20 days and that he should then be given a month to dissolve parliament.   Partner news |  Latest news Israeli security expert says Syrian hacker attack foiled  Israel refuses to comment on the strike but officials at the time said Iranian missiles set for Hezbollah were hit.Gyumri to host Europe Day celebrations The celebrations will feature a small information fair, with EU project representatives to brief the visitors on the initiatives launched.1st Armenian interactive fairy tale available for iPhone/iPod Touch The tale sparked great interest in Diaspora. Such projects, namely interactive version of “Alice in Wonderland”, are popular abroad.Expert says Russian FM’s remarks in context of Madrid Principles No decisive developments will follow the meeting between Russian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers, David Jamalyan said. |
