Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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December 31, 2007

Suicide Bomber Kills 9 in Iraq
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1AC1C75:A6F02AD83191E160FDB6BB66BC96F64D3CF5CDEF8FC051DA& Incident occurred
in the town of Tarmiyah, about 60 kilometers north of Baghdad Iraqi
police say a suicide bomber drove a truck into a checkpoint Monday in
a town north of Baghdad, killing at least nine people.

Police say the victims were members of a neighborhood patrol (known as
Awakening Councils,) set up to oppose al-Qaida militants. Two other
people were reported missing and believed to be dead.

The attack comes just days after the release of a new Internet message
purportedly by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

He warned Iraqis not to take up arms against his movement or to
support the unity government.

In a separate incident today, authorities said at least two Iraqi
soldiers were killed and two others wounded when a roadside bomb
struck their patrol near the Iranian border in Diyala province.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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