Senior Iraqi Military Commander Dies In Attack On Al-Qaeda

A senior military commander has died while leading an attack on an Al-Qaeda hideout in Iraq's western Anbar Province.

Major Gen Mohammed al-Karawi and at least 18 other soldiers, including a colonel, were killed as they stormed the booby-trapped hideout in the area of Rutba on December 21.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in western Iraq on the same day, gunmen in a speeding car opened fire at a police checkpoint in the city of Fallujah, killing four policemen.

And in the north, near the city of Kirkuk, an army officer and a soldier were killed when two mortar shells struck a military camp.


Based on reporting by AP and AFP