Bomb kills, injures 4 Iraqi soldiers in Diala

DIALA / IraqiNews.com: Two Iraqi soldiers were killed and two others were wounded on Wednesday in a bomb explosion in Khaniqeen district, the commander of the 8th brigade of the Border Guards forces said. “An explosive device was detonated targeting an Iraqi army vehicle patrol on the main street in Khaniqeen-Niftkhana, northeast of Baaquba, killing two soldiers, including a captain and injuring two others,” Nazem Asta Sharief told IraqiNews.com. Khaniqeen lies 155 northeast of Baaquba, the capital of Diala province, which lies 57 km north of Baghdad. Diala province extends to the northeast of Baghdad as far as the Iranian border. Its capital is Baaquba. It covers an area of 17,685 square kilometers (6,828 sq mi). A large portion of the province is drained by the Diala River, a major tributary of the Tigris. Because of its proximity to two major sources of water, Diala’s main industry is agriculture, primarily dates grown in large Date Palm groves. It is also recognized as the orange capital of the Middle East. In January 2008 Operation Phantom Phoenix was launched in an attempt to eradicate the remnants of al-Qaeda network following the Diala province campaign between 2006 and 2007. SH (S) 1