Gunmen kill 29 in Iraq

Updated 12.40 Tue Jul 17 2007
Keywords: Baquba, Baghdad, Iraq, al-Qaeda

Men wearing Iraqi military uniforms have killed 29 people in a village north of Baghdad, an Iraqi security official has said.

Colonel Raghib Radhi, spokesman for security operations in Diyala province, said a large number of gunmen surrounded Duwailiya village, north of the city of Baquba, and then opened fire.

Four people wounded in the attack, which an official blamed on militants fleeing US and Iraqi security forces

Four people were wounded in the attack, which Col Radhi blamed on militants fleeing US and Iraqi security forces.

US and Iraqi troops launched a major operation in Baquba, the capital of the religiously mixed Diyala province, last month.

Thousands of soldiers swept into Baquba to drive out several hundred al-Qaeda militants who had turned the city into a stronghold.

But US commanders said many of the most senior al-Qaeda fighters had left the region before they closed the net.

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