Iraqi soldiers backed by
tanks retook control of a Sunni town north of Baghdad on Friday after
gunmen withdrew without a fight, although violence continued in other
parts of the country.
The Sunni gunmen had seized
Suleiman Beg on Thursday after a firefight with security forces, one in a
string of similar incidents that have killed more than 150 people in
clashes in Sunni Muslim towns in western and northern Iraq over the past
four days.
The ongoing fighting has raised concerns about the spread of sectarian clashes in Iraq, whose government is now dominated by the Shiite majority which Sunnis charge mistreats them.
Police and military officials said that army units entered the town after negotiations with local tribal leaders.
The recent unrest in the country followed a deadly security crackdown on a Sunni protest in the northern town of Hawija four days ago.
Meanwhile, police said a bomb blast hit Sunni worshippers as they were leaving a mosque in western Baghdad after the end of Friday prayers, killing 5 worshippers and wounding 22 others. Minutes later, a Sunni was killed and six others were wounded after bomb struck Sunnis near a mosque in the Rashidiyah area, 20 kilometers north of the capital.
Medics in nearby hospitals confirmed the death toll. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to media.
Last Friday, a pair of bombs struck outside a Sunni mosque north of Baghdad, killing at least 11 people. There was no claim of responsibility for the attacks against Sunni mosques, which have now happened for two Fridays in a row.
Al-Qaeda's Iraqi branch, Known as the Islamic State of Iraq, frequently carries out attacks against civilian targets such as mosques, markets and restaurants.
The turmoil is aggravating an already sour political situation between the Shiite-led government and Sunnis, who accuse Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government of neglect and trying to disenfranchise their Muslim sect.
Al-Maliki appeared on national television appealing for calm amid fears the country is facing a return to full-scale sectarian fighting more than a year after US troops withdrew.
The spreading violence came as Iraqi electoral officials announced preliminary results in local elections held last Saturday - Iraq's first since US troops left in December 2011.
With 87 percent of the ballots counted, al-Maliki's State of Law bloc was on track to win the most votes in eight of the 12 provinces participating in the vote, including Baghdad and the southern oil hub of Basra.
Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc was ahead in the southern Shiite province of Maysan, while a provincial level coalition was leading in the Shiite province of Najaf. Local coalitions also were ahead in the largely Sunni province of Salahuddin and the mixed province of Diyala.
The government last month delayed voting in two predominately Sunni provinces where anti-government protests have raged for months, citing security concerns.
The final results will offer a key measure of support for the country's political blocs and could boost the victors' chances heading into next year's parliamentary elections.
The election announcement was overshadowed, however, by the rising unrest.
Gunmen and police clashed for hours in several districts of the former Sunni insurgent stronghold of Mosul before security forces brought the situation under control Thursday afternoon.
Police said 31 militants and 10 police were killed in the fighting in Mosul, which has been one of the hardest areas to tame since bloodshed erupted after the US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.
Many residents remained holed up in their homes out of fear, although the city was largely quiet by evening.
Clashes also erupted late Thursday between gunmen and security forces in the former al-Qaeda stronghold of Baqouba, prompting authorities to impose a curfew there and in the surrounding province, according to police.
The latest unrest began on Tuesday when fighting broke out in the northern town of Hawija during a security crackdown on a protest encampment. Three members of the Iraqi security force and at least 20 other people were killed. The government said gunmen fired on the security forces as they entered the camp to make arrests related to an earlier incident.
Iraqi Sunnis say they face discrimination, particularly in the application of a tough anti-terrorism law that they believe unfairly targets their sect, which formed the backbone of the insurgency but also was key to the downturn in violence after tribal leaders turned against al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The government frequently carries out arrests in Sunni areas on charges of al-Qaeda or Baathist ties. Protests escalated in December after the arrest of bodyguards assigned to Finance Minister Rafia al-Issawi, a Sunni, in late December.
The ongoing fighting has raised concerns about the spread of sectarian clashes in Iraq, whose government is now dominated by the Shiite majority which Sunnis charge mistreats them.
Police and military officials said that army units entered the town after negotiations with local tribal leaders.
The recent unrest in the country followed a deadly security crackdown on a Sunni protest in the northern town of Hawija four days ago.
Meanwhile, police said a bomb blast hit Sunni worshippers as they were leaving a mosque in western Baghdad after the end of Friday prayers, killing 5 worshippers and wounding 22 others. Minutes later, a Sunni was killed and six others were wounded after bomb struck Sunnis near a mosque in the Rashidiyah area, 20 kilometers north of the capital.
Medics in nearby hospitals confirmed the death toll. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to media.
Last Friday, a pair of bombs struck outside a Sunni mosque north of Baghdad, killing at least 11 people. There was no claim of responsibility for the attacks against Sunni mosques, which have now happened for two Fridays in a row.
Al-Qaeda's Iraqi branch, Known as the Islamic State of Iraq, frequently carries out attacks against civilian targets such as mosques, markets and restaurants.
Iraq fears rise as clashes spread
Clashes spread to a key northern city and gunmen took over a town elsewhere in Iraq on Thursday, raising the death toll from three days of violence to more than 150 people as a wave of Sunni unrest intensified.The turmoil is aggravating an already sour political situation between the Shiite-led government and Sunnis, who accuse Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government of neglect and trying to disenfranchise their Muslim sect.
Al-Maliki appeared on national television appealing for calm amid fears the country is facing a return to full-scale sectarian fighting more than a year after US troops withdrew.
The spreading violence came as Iraqi electoral officials announced preliminary results in local elections held last Saturday - Iraq's first since US troops left in December 2011.
With 87 percent of the ballots counted, al-Maliki's State of Law bloc was on track to win the most votes in eight of the 12 provinces participating in the vote, including Baghdad and the southern oil hub of Basra.
Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's bloc was ahead in the southern Shiite province of Maysan, while a provincial level coalition was leading in the Shiite province of Najaf. Local coalitions also were ahead in the largely Sunni province of Salahuddin and the mixed province of Diyala.
The government last month delayed voting in two predominately Sunni provinces where anti-government protests have raged for months, citing security concerns.
The final results will offer a key measure of support for the country's political blocs and could boost the victors' chances heading into next year's parliamentary elections.
The election announcement was overshadowed, however, by the rising unrest.
Gunmen and police clashed for hours in several districts of the former Sunni insurgent stronghold of Mosul before security forces brought the situation under control Thursday afternoon.
Police said 31 militants and 10 police were killed in the fighting in Mosul, which has been one of the hardest areas to tame since bloodshed erupted after the US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.
Many residents remained holed up in their homes out of fear, although the city was largely quiet by evening.
Clashes also erupted late Thursday between gunmen and security forces in the former al-Qaeda stronghold of Baqouba, prompting authorities to impose a curfew there and in the surrounding province, according to police.
The latest unrest began on Tuesday when fighting broke out in the northern town of Hawija during a security crackdown on a protest encampment. Three members of the Iraqi security force and at least 20 other people were killed. The government said gunmen fired on the security forces as they entered the camp to make arrests related to an earlier incident.
Iraqi Sunnis say they face discrimination, particularly in the application of a tough anti-terrorism law that they believe unfairly targets their sect, which formed the backbone of the insurgency but also was key to the downturn in violence after tribal leaders turned against al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The government frequently carries out arrests in Sunni areas on charges of al-Qaeda or Baathist ties. Protests escalated in December after the arrest of bodyguards assigned to Finance Minister Rafia al-Issawi, a Sunni, in late December.
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