Soldier killed, officer wounded near Mosul blast

NINEWA / IraqiNews.com: A soldier was killed and an officer wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near their patrol west of Mosul city on Sunday, an Iraqi army source in Ninewa said. “An IED went off near an army patrol in the village of al-Sakkar, al-Biaj district, west of Mosul, leaving a soldier killed and an officer in the rank of major wounded,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The officer is the assistant commander of the Iraqi army’s 3rd Division’s contingent active in this area,” he said. The source added that the officer was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment and his health condition became stable. Mosul, the capital city of the violence-stricken multi-ethnic province of Ninewa, lies 405 km north of Baghdad. AmR (P) 1