Al-Qaida accused of attacking Sunni village

updated 7:13 a.m. ET Aug. 23, 2007

BAGHDAD - Alleged al-Qaida fighters attacked a Sunni village east of Baqouba on Thursday and killed a village leader who had led the community in an uprising against the terrorist organization, witnesses and police said.

The attack by about 25 gunmen on the Ibrahim al-Yahya village began at 6:30 a.m. when the fighters exploded a bomb at the house of the sheik, destroying his home and killing him and one member of his family.

Ten people were wounded, including four other members of the family and passers-by. Some of the wounded were hit by gunfire.

“They were shouting Allah Akbar and Curse be upon the Renegades,” said Umm Ahmed, who was among the three women wounded in the attack. She refused to give her full name fearing retribution. “This attack will cause the uprising against them to spread to other villages.”

A police vehicle rushing to the attack scene crashed and two policemen were killed, according to officials in the Diyala provincial police force who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Armed men in the village assembled and drove the fighters back in a 30-minute gunbattle, witnesses said.

Al-Qaida has been forced to fight a rear-guard action against many of its former allies in the Sunni community who have risen up against the organization because of its brutality and attempts to impose the group’s austere version of Islam.

The uprising began spontaneously in Anbar province, once a bastion of the Sunni insurgency in the west of Iraq, and has spread to Diyala province and some Baghdad neighborhoods.

U.S. soldier killed, 4 wounded
Also Thursday, the U.S. military reported that a U.S. soldier was killed and four were wounded in combat operations west of the capital Wednesday. No other details were provided.

The death raised to at least 3,723 members of the U.S. military who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

NBC News video Deadly chopper crash Aug. 22: A helicopter went down in northern Iraq on Wednesday, killing all U.S. soldiers aboard. NBC's Tom Aspell reports. Today show

Meanwhile, the U.S. general who commands troops in northern Iraq issued a statement of condolences for the 14 soldiers who were killed Wednesday when a Blackhawk helicopter crashed shortly after picking up a group of troopers who had just completed a night operation in Tamim province, home to the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.

“There is no doubt this is a tragic event, not only for Task Force Lightning, but also for the families and fellow soldiers in the Schofield and Fort Lewis communities,” said Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander of Task Force Lightning and the 25th Infantry Division.

“I extend my sincere condolences to those deeply affected by the loss of these warriors.”

The military statement said those killed included four Fort Lewis, Washington-based aircrew members and 10 Schofield Barracks, Hawaii-based passengers.

Wednesday’s crash was the Pentagon’s worst single-day death toll in Iraq since January and indicated how forces are relying heavily on air power in offensives across northern regions after rooting out many militant strongholds in Baghdad and central regions.

But extremists are striking back.

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