Sahwa chief, army officer among deaths in Amiriya blast

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The commander of the al-Amiriya pro-government sahwa (awakening) tribal forces and an Iraqi army officer were among the deaths of an improvised explosive device (IED) near a combined checkpoint in western Baghdad earlier on Thursday, a local security source said. “Mohammed Abad Kahla and an army officer in the rank of captain were killed along with two others and 10 injured people in a powerful IED attack that targeted a checkpoint in western Baghdad,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. Earlier, a security source said a car rigged with explosives and driven by a suicide bomber went off near a combined checkpoint of the army, police and sahwa fighters at the al-Amiriya neighborhood entrance in western Baghdad. “The attack left four killed and 10 others injured in an initial count of casualties that is likely to rise,” the source added. AmR (P) 2