Gunmen kill Sahwa fighter in Diala

DIALA / IraqiNews.com: A suspected al-Qaeda armed group killed a Sahwa fighter on Wednesday in south of Baaquba city, according to a police source. “An armed group believed to belong to al-Qaeda network on Wednesday (Feb. 11) attacked the house of a Sahwa fighter in al-Abara region in Bahraz, south of Baaquba, and showered him with bullets,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The dead man belongs to Bani Tameem tribe and he is the brother of director of the Diala complaints department,” he added. The Sahwa councils are anti-Qaeda fighters working in coordination with the Multi-National Force (MNF) and the Iraqi government. Headed by local chieftains, the councils have been credited with helping reduce violence in many Iraqi provinces, like Anbar, Diala, Ninewa, and Salah al-Din. Diala province, a mix of Sunnis and Shiites, extends to the northeast of Baghdad as far as the Iranian border. Its capital is Baaquba, 57 km northeast of Baghdad. It covers an area of 17,685 square kilometers (6,828 sq mi). SH (S) 1