Gunmen, suicide bombers attack police station in western Iraq, seize hostages

Gunmen, suicide bombers attack police station in western Iraq, seize hostages

Gunmen and suicide bombers stormed a police station in a local government compound in Iraq's western province of Anbar Monday, holding hostage some 14 policemen and officials, a provincial police source told Xinhua.

A group of gunmen wearing military uniforms in the morning broke into the government compound of al-Baghdadi town, some 170 km west of Baghdad, after one suicide bomber blew up his explosive belt at the entrance to the compound, the source from Anbar's operations command said on condition of anonymity.

Another suicide bomber blew himself up inside the police station, while other gunmen took hostages from the compound, where a government building is located, the source said.

"Mohanad Zbar Mutlag, mayor of the town, Lieutenant Colonel Sadiq Aftan, chief of the police station, and 12 other officials and policemen were held hostage in the police station building," the source added.

Iraqi security forces cordoned off the compound and are trading fire with the gunmen who holed up inside the compound, he said.

"Some gunmen are on the roof of the police station and are shooting the surrounding troops with their sniper rifles," he added.

There is no immediate information about the casualties, as the troops are still fighting the gunmen, he said.

Authorities in the town imposed a curfew as reinforcement troops were arriving from nearby cities, the source said.

Insurgent attacks continue in the once volatile Sunni Arab area west of Baghdad that stretches through Anbar province to Iraq's western border with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

English.news.cn   2011-10-03 16:16:56 FeedbackPrintRSS
RAMADI, Iraq, Oct. 3 (Xinhua)