Shelling kills four Iraq army officers

Mortar rounds fired at an Iraqi army base west of Baghdad have killed four officers and two soldiers.

Mortar rounds have struck an Iraqi army base west of Baghdad, killing four officers and two soldiers, security officials say.

A brigade commander was among the dead in Monday's attack, which took place in the Abu Ghraib area, the sources said.

The deaths came two days after five senior officers, including a division commander, and 10 soldiers were killed during an operation against militants in the mainly Sunni western province of Anbar.

Violence in Iraq has reached a level not seen since 2008, when the country was just emerging from a brutal period of sectarian killings.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said that a Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp in Anbar had become a "headquarters for the leadership of al-Qaeda," calling on legitimate protesters to leave before security forces move in.

Protests broke out late last year in Sunni-majority areas of Iraq, where people complain of being both marginalised by the Shi'ite-led government and unjustly targeted by heavy-handed security measures.

Experts say that widespread Sunni anger has been a major factor in the heightened unrest this year.

Death tolls from violence surged after security forces raided an anti-government protest site near the northern town of Hawijah on April 23, sparking clashes in which dozens died.

More than 6650 people have been killed in Iraq since the beginning of the year, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Watch now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world