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04-17-2005, 07:22 PM
April 17, 2005
Sunni Fighters Kidnap Shiites Near Baghdad
Sectarian tensions flare in the town of Madaen. In Baqubah, a suicide bomber kills seven in a restaurant frequented by Iraqi police.
By Solomon Moore and Raheem Salman, Times Staff Writers
BAGHDAD — Capping a week of resurging violence, Sunni Muslim fighters kidnapped Shiite Muslim civilians in a tense town south of Baghdad, and a suicide bomber demolished a restaurant frequented by Iraqi police north of the capital Saturday, killing at least seven people.
The bombing in the city of Baqubah, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, came during lunchtime. Officials at Baqubah General Hospital said five of the dead were Iraqi police officers.
"A suicide attacker wearing an explosive belt blew himself up after he entered the restaurant as a police patrol was having lunch," said Ismael Ibrahim, an Iraqi military commander. "There are many casualties among the police and civilians. The restaurant was completely destroyed, as were a number of neighboring shops."
In recent months, Iraqi security forces have taken the brunt of the insurgents' wrath, even as the rate of U.S. casualties has fallen dramatically.
The violence deepens a sense of unease that has built over a week of deadly bombings, clashes between insurgents and military forces and the kidnapping of an American contractor.
In Madaen, 15 miles south of Baghdad, there were unconfirmed reports Saturday that Iraqi soldiers had surrounded the town after Sunni insurgents kidnapped a number of Shiites and drove through the streets shouting death threats over truck-mounted loudspeakers.
"They were saying that unless the Shiites moved out of the area, they would be killed," said Sabah Kadhim, an Interior Ministry spokesman.
Other sources at the ministry said that the unrest in Madaen began after a mortar attack Thursday on the Rasul al Adham Mosque and that the number of hostages taken was no more than a dozen. Some news agencies put the number at 60 or even 100.
Madaen and neighboring Salman Pak lie in the Tigris River Valley, which divides the Sunni-dominated center of Iraq and the predominantly Shiite south. The area has been a hotbed of sectarian tensions. Since the U.S.-led invasion, Iraqi and American troops have entered Madaen several times to quell tensions there, but to little avail.
"This is a mixed community, and unfortunately the sects haven't got on very well there," Kadhim said. "Terrorists came in from the outside and have tried to exploit that. They are trying to incite religious hatred and are threatening some people. We sent some of our special forces to check out and restore the area and chase the terrorists away."
A government statement said Saturday that Iraqi police freed eight hostages and "confronted a terrorist group in Madaen while they were trying to recover four dead bodies in that area."
The Interior Ministry sources disputed reports that Iraqi security forces were planning a large-scale siege of the city.
"Tension is prevailing here. The population is terrified," said a Christian resident who requested anonymity. He complained that Iraqi security forces had all but abandoned the area to militants until Saturday. "The roads are blocked by them — nobody can leave the Shiite neighborhoods," he said. "There are no checkpoints; no Americans are here. The Iraqi national guard inspected our houses last Friday. The Iraqi police did the same. But the insurgents show up as soon as they leave."
The highway near Madaen is known as one of the most dangerous routes, as Sunni insurgents have set up checkpoints near the city to stop Shiites traveling in and out of Baghdad. Last month, U.S. forces killed 26 militants after they had attacked a convoy near Salman Pak.
Several days ago, as Times staffers drove south from the capital to Basra, more than 30 masked men carrying AK-47 rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers attempted, unsuccessfully, to stop their car.
Elsewhere in Iraq on Saturday, a suicide attacker in Mosul rammed his car into a U.S. convoy. No Americans were killed.
"A very fast car came and hit one of the American vehicles, which exploded immediately," said an injured civilian.
In Baghdad, two Filipinos were injured when gunmen shot at the minibus carrying them to their jobs at the airport, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported.
In another incident on the road, a suicide car bomber attacked a convoy, killing at least four civilians — one Iraqi and three foreigners — and wounding six, police said. The U.S. military confirmed that it was a civilian convoy but had no further details.
A special correspondent in Mosul contributed to this report.
Sunni Fighters Kidnap Shiites Near Baghdad
Sectarian tensions flare in the town of Madaen. In Baqubah, a suicide bomber kills seven in a restaurant frequented by Iraqi police.
By Solomon Moore and Raheem Salman, Times Staff Writers
BAGHDAD — Capping a week of resurging violence, Sunni Muslim fighters kidnapped Shiite Muslim civilians in a tense town south of Baghdad, and a suicide bomber demolished a restaurant frequented by Iraqi police north of the capital Saturday, killing at least seven people.
The bombing in the city of Baqubah, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, came during lunchtime. Officials at Baqubah General Hospital said five of the dead were Iraqi police officers.
"A suicide attacker wearing an explosive belt blew himself up after he entered the restaurant as a police patrol was having lunch," said Ismael Ibrahim, an Iraqi military commander. "There are many casualties among the police and civilians. The restaurant was completely destroyed, as were a number of neighboring shops."
In recent months, Iraqi security forces have taken the brunt of the insurgents' wrath, even as the rate of U.S. casualties has fallen dramatically.
The violence deepens a sense of unease that has built over a week of deadly bombings, clashes between insurgents and military forces and the kidnapping of an American contractor.
In Madaen, 15 miles south of Baghdad, there were unconfirmed reports Saturday that Iraqi soldiers had surrounded the town after Sunni insurgents kidnapped a number of Shiites and drove through the streets shouting death threats over truck-mounted loudspeakers.
"They were saying that unless the Shiites moved out of the area, they would be killed," said Sabah Kadhim, an Interior Ministry spokesman.
Other sources at the ministry said that the unrest in Madaen began after a mortar attack Thursday on the Rasul al Adham Mosque and that the number of hostages taken was no more than a dozen. Some news agencies put the number at 60 or even 100.
Madaen and neighboring Salman Pak lie in the Tigris River Valley, which divides the Sunni-dominated center of Iraq and the predominantly Shiite south. The area has been a hotbed of sectarian tensions. Since the U.S.-led invasion, Iraqi and American troops have entered Madaen several times to quell tensions there, but to little avail.
"This is a mixed community, and unfortunately the sects haven't got on very well there," Kadhim said. "Terrorists came in from the outside and have tried to exploit that. They are trying to incite religious hatred and are threatening some people. We sent some of our special forces to check out and restore the area and chase the terrorists away."
A government statement said Saturday that Iraqi police freed eight hostages and "confronted a terrorist group in Madaen while they were trying to recover four dead bodies in that area."
The Interior Ministry sources disputed reports that Iraqi security forces were planning a large-scale siege of the city.
"Tension is prevailing here. The population is terrified," said a Christian resident who requested anonymity. He complained that Iraqi security forces had all but abandoned the area to militants until Saturday. "The roads are blocked by them — nobody can leave the Shiite neighborhoods," he said. "There are no checkpoints; no Americans are here. The Iraqi national guard inspected our houses last Friday. The Iraqi police did the same. But the insurgents show up as soon as they leave."
The highway near Madaen is known as one of the most dangerous routes, as Sunni insurgents have set up checkpoints near the city to stop Shiites traveling in and out of Baghdad. Last month, U.S. forces killed 26 militants after they had attacked a convoy near Salman Pak.
Several days ago, as Times staffers drove south from the capital to Basra, more than 30 masked men carrying AK-47 rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers attempted, unsuccessfully, to stop their car.
Elsewhere in Iraq on Saturday, a suicide attacker in Mosul rammed his car into a U.S. convoy. No Americans were killed.
"A very fast car came and hit one of the American vehicles, which exploded immediately," said an injured civilian.
In Baghdad, two Filipinos were injured when gunmen shot at the minibus carrying them to their jobs at the airport, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported.
In another incident on the road, a suicide car bomber attacked a convoy, killing at least four civilians — one Iraqi and three foreigners — and wounding six, police said. The U.S. military confirmed that it was a civilian convoy but had no further details.
A special correspondent in Mosul contributed to this report.