Islamist insurgent group claims killing 25 US soldiers
By DPA, IANSMonday, June 21, 2010
BAGHDAD - Islamist insurgent group ‘The Islamic State of Iraq’ said it killed 25 US soldiers in two attacks in Diyala province, about 60 km north-east of Baghdad, according to a statement published on Islamist websites Monday.
The statement said that the first operation was on June 9, when a car bomb attack targeted “the fortified headquarters of the local administration of al-Muqdadiya city”.
The suicide bomber was able to drive the car between vehicles of US and Iraqi soldiers, adding that the explosion led to the destruction of the main vehicle carrying US soldiers, and killed everyone inside it, the statement claimed.
On June 11, another car bomb targeted a US military patrol in the Jalawla area of eastern Baquba city, Diyala’s capital. The blast left at least 10 US soldiers killed, it said.
Independent confirmation of the claim was not immediately available.
In the June 11 attack, the US army at the time had reported two of its soldiers killed and six wounded.
The Islamic State of Iraq is an umbrella organisation made up of Islamist insurgent groups, including Al Qaeda’s Iraqi branch, which once declared Baquba as its capital.
