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Leading Sunni militant among three killed in Iraq

Arab World Materials 22 October 2010 20:09 (UTC +04:00)
At least three people were killed, including a leader of a government-backed Sunni militia, and seven people were injured in separate attacks in Iraq, security sources said Friday
Leading Sunni militant among three killed in Iraq

At least three people were killed, including a leader of a government-backed Sunni militia, and seven people were injured in separate attacks in Iraq, security sources said Friday , dpa reported

A leader of Sahwa, government-backed Sunni militia, was killed in a blast in the city of Fallujah, some 60 kilometres west of Baghdad.

He was killed when a bomb attached to his car exploded. A woman in the car was also injured.

Sahwa, also known as the Awakening Councils, were formed by Sunni tribes with the aim of fighting insurgents. Its members, many of whom were former anti-government militants, regularly come under attack from insurgents for switching sides with US support.

The New York Times reported this week that pressure is growing on Sahwa members to quit work with the Iraqi government and instead work with al-Qaeda. The newspaper reported that the group's members who stay with the government do so at a high risk to their lives.

In the north of the country, one policeman was killed and one injured when gunmen attacked their checkpoint in Bab al-Tob district.

Nearby, a civilian was killed and another six were injured when a bomb went off near an army patrol. No soldiers were injured.

Police forces arrested 14 wanted men and seized a weapons cache in south Mosul, which is located some 405 kilometres north of Baghdad.

Both Iraqi civilians and security forces have increasingly been coming under attack from insurgents in recent months, with less than 50,000 United States troops now stationed in the country - their lowest level since the 2003 invasion

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