An Iraqi boy removes debris from the site where a chlorine gas tanker exploded in the town of Taji, north of Baghdad, killing six people. In total, at least 14 people have been killed and dozens wounded in attacks in Iraq as the bloodshed showed no signs of a let-up despite a massive security plan.(AFP/Wisam Sami)
An Iraqi boy inspects the damage at the site where a chlorine gas tanker exploded in the town of Taji, north of Baghdad. Supected Sunni militants have killed at least 14 people in attacks in and around the capital, including six people that died as a result of the chlorine gas tanker explosion.(AFP/Wisam Sami)
Children stand amid debris in front of a car parts shop after a fuel truck exploded in Taji, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2007. One person died and more than 100 people were hospitalized complaining of breathing problems after a truck carrying fuel tanks exploded in Taji, police and medical officials said. The reason for the vehicle exploding was not immediately known. (AP Photo/Asaad Mouhsin)
Insurgents strike U.S. post
On Monday, insurgents staged a bold daylight assault against a U.S. combat post north of Baghdad, killing two soldiers and injuring 17. The U.S. military called it a “coordinated attack” — which began with a suicide car bombing and then gunfire on soldiers pinned down in a former Iraqi police station, where fuel storage tanks were set ablaze by the blast.
The head-on attack in the town of Tarmiyah, about 30 miles north of Baghdad, was notable for both its tactics and target. Sunni insurgents have mostly used hit-and-run ambushes, roadside bombs or mortars on U.S. troops and stayed away from direct assaults on fortified military compounds to avoid U.S. firepower.
It also appeared to fit a pattern emerging among the suspected Sunni militants: trying to hit U.S. forces harder outside the capital rather than confront them on the streets during a massive American-led security operation.
U.S. forces have set up cordons throughout Tarmiyah and launched searches for insurgent hideouts.
Mohammed al-Askari, spokesman for Iraq’s Defense Ministry, blamed the attack on a cell of al-Qaida in Iraq, which has claimed responsibility for many high-profile strikes. “It’s their work,” he said.
Altogether, nine U.S. service members have been reported killed since the beginning of the weekend, six of them on Monday.
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