Blast kills wife, sisters-in-law of AQI leader

DIALA / IraqiNews.com: A wife of an al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) leader, along with two of her sisters, was killed in an explosion that tore through a house in Diala’s Balad Rouz district, according to a local security source. “An improvised explosive device (IED) detonated inside a house of an al-Qaeda leader in Balad Rouz district (45 km east of Diala), killing his wife and two of her sisters,” the source told IraqiNews.com. The AQI leader was not inside the house at the time of the blast, the source added, providing no further details. 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). SS (P) 1