Suicide Truck Bomb Kills at Least 20 in Northern Iraq
22 August 2007
Iraqi police say a suicide truck bomb attack has killed at least 20 people in northern Iraq.
Authorities say the truck exploded at a police station in the city of Baiji. Dozens of people were wounded.
Also in northern Iraq, the U.S. military says an American helicopter crash Wednesday killed all 14 soldiers aboard. It says initial indications are that the aircraft had a mechanical malfunction. The military did not specify the location of the crash.
In other news, the French newspaper Le Monde says Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has rejected a French proposal for a conference to bring together rival Iraqi political factions. The newspaper says Mr. Talabani said such a meeting is not necessary since Iraqi political leaders speak and meet with each other every day.
In Baghdad, the trial of 15 former aides of executed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein continued for a second day. The defendants are charged with crimes against humanity for the killing of tens of thousands of Shi'ites who rebelled against Saddam following the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
Those on trial include Saddam's cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as "Chemical Ali." He and two other defendants have already been sentenced to death for their role in the killing of up to 180,000 Kurdish villagers in northern Iraq in the 1980s as part of the "Anfal" campaign.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
