Iraqi authorities say deadly violence has left at
least 30 people killed, mostly in a battle between Sunni militants and
government troops in a town north of Baghdad.
Wednesday's fighting erupted in the Sulaiman Bek
area, as Sunni militants confronted the troops in apparent revenge for a
government raid on a Sunni protest camp in the northern town of Hawija the
previous day.
Officials said government helicopters were called in
to drive out the militants from Sulaiman Bek. At least 15 militants and
soldiers were killed. Another 15 people were killed in apparently unrelated
violence Wednesday, seven of them in a car bombing in eastern Baghdad.
Tuesday's government raid on Sunni protesters in
Hawija triggered fighting that killed at least 53 people. Authorities said
security forces entered the camp to arrest demonstrators.
Iraq's minority Sunnis have been staging four months
of protests around the country, demanding the resignation of the country's
Shi'ite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. They accuse his majority Shi'ite-led
government of arbitrarily arresting Sunni opponents and holding them without
charges.
U.N. envoy to Iraq Martin Kobler has called for
calm, urging security forces to exercise restraint and Sunnis to protest
peacefully.
Sources :
http://www.voanews.com/content/iraq-violence-kills-30-as-sunni-militants-battle-troops/1648149.html
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