7 dead as militants attack Iraq security forces

Militants carried out a series of attacks against Iraqi security forces on Tuesday, killing seven police and soldiers and wounding 11, security and medical officials said. In Tarmiyah, north of the capital, militants attacked a police station with two car bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and Kalashnikov assault rifles, killing one policeman and wounding two, an interior ministry official and a medical source said. Farther north, gunmen attacked a police patrol in a village called Al-Mukhisa, near the city of Baquba, killing one policeman and wounding three others, a police lieutenant colonel and a doctor said. Gunmen also attacked a checkpoint in Zayouna in east Baghdad, killing two police and wounding three, the interior ministry official said. In Al-Amriyah in west Baghdad, gunmen killed army Brigadier General Saleh Hassan Fezaa, while others attacked a checkpoint in Al-Amil in the south of the capital, killing two soldiers and wounding three. While insurgents opposed to the Baghdad government are regarded as weaker than in past years, they have shown they can strike at even the most highly-secured sites in the country. Targets in recent months included a military base, the anti-terrorism directorate in Baghdad, a prison, and an entrance to Baghdad's heavily-fortified Green Zone, where the Iraqi government is headquartered. Violence in Iraq is down from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but deadly attacks are still carried out almost every day. With the latest violence, at least 188 people have been killed and 688 wounded in attacks so far this month, according to an AFP tally based on security and medical sources.