12 Security Personnel Killed In Iraq

Gunmen have killed 12 Iraqi policemen and
soldiers while a truck bomb hit a southern
port. In Saturday’s deadliest attack, gunmen
opened fire on an army post in the town of
Madain, just southeast of Baghdad, in a pre-
dawn strike that left five soldiers dead and
three others wounded, police and a medical
source said. Among the dead was a lieutenant colonel.
The gunmen fled after the attack, and
security forces, who cordoned off the
scene, launched a manhunt. North of Baghdad, militants shot dead four
police who were buying ice near the city of
Tikrit. Security forces often purchase large blocks
of ice to distribute to nearby checkpoints in
order to cope with Iraq’s sweltering summer
heat. In another attack north of the capital,
gunmen killed three soldiers in the restive
Muqdadiyah area of Diyala province. And in the far south, a truck rigged with
explosives blew up in the parking lot of the
port of Umm Qasr,
wounding three people and damaging a
docked ship and several nearby trucks. The port’s operations were not affected,
however, a spokesman said. No group immediately claimed
responsibility for the attacks, but Sunni
militants linked to al-Qaeda and opposed to
the Shi’ite-led government frequently carry
out attacks against security forces. Attacks have killed more than 3480 people
since the beginning of 2013, according to
figures compiled by AFP. Interior ministry spokesman Brigadier
General Saad Maan said on Saturday that
security forces had killed a top al-Qaeda
militant in Tikrit and detained two of his
aides.
He did not identify the man who was killed.

Boko Haram Strikes Again – At Least 11 Civilians, 2 Terrorists Dead in Borno

At least 13 persons were reportedly killed
when members of the infamous terrorist
group, Boko Haram, attacked Damboa
Village, about 85 km north of Maiduguri, the
Borno State capital. The attack happened on
the night of August 15, 2013, Thursday.

According to Ayamu Gwasha, who
represents Konduga in the Borno State
House of Assembly, the alleged Boko
Haram gunmen invaded the agrarian village
famous for producing most of the grocery
requirements of the state at about 7.30 p.m.; and attacked several places including
the security formations. “Our people have been killed last night by
these people. We had anticipated this
attack, because we are border neighbour to
Konduga where 44 persons were killed early
this week, that was why we immediately
alerted the security agencies for security beef up, which was being considered before
they attacked,” said Mr. Gwasha. Another source, representing security
forces, name and position withheld,
confirmed the incident. “The incident happened at about 7.30 p.m.
About 50 Boko Haram terrorists drove into
Damboa in nine Volkswagen Golf cars and
four motorcycles. They attacked Damboa
police station, but the officers there
effectively repelled them; they also attempted attacking the military post in the
town but the soldiers also repelled them.
While that was going on, another group were
busy attacking the village and burning some
of the houses. “After the attack, which lasted till 12 a.m.,
eleven civilians died, two members of the
Boko Haram were killed by the police,” said
the security source. “About 20 houses including that of the local
government chairman and several shops
were burnt down. The terrorists had also
looted most of the shops and filled a truck
with food items, but they were not lucky to
escape with the loot as the laden vehicle got stuck in the muddy road.” A local farmer, Mustapha Aji, who was lucky
enough to escaped through the bushes to
Maiduguri town, told the reporters that
villagers had to flee their homes and spend
the night in the bushes while the attack was
going on. He said he believed that foreign mercenaries were among the terrorists who
attacked. “The shooting was too much; it started
immediately after the Isha (late night)
prayers. The shooters came in several cars
and began to shoot and burning houses and
shops. Some of them are aliens, because
they were speaking Arab fluently. They were carrying big, big guns, some were
throwing bombs. Everywhere was on fire I
had to run for my life,” said 46-year-old Mr.
Aji. Damboa had suffered several similar
attacks in the past one year which led to
killing of several persons and destruction of
properties. Mr. Sagir Musa, the spokesman of JTF in
Borno, could not be reached on the latest
attack, as his telephone numbers are not
available due to network problems in Borno.