Diala attack kills civilian, destroys houses

DIALA / IraqiNews.com: A civilian was killed and three houses were destroyed in an armed attack in Diala province, a local police source said on Sunday. “Today, a group of al-Qaeda operatives launched an armed attack on Hussein al-Hammadi village, Khan Bani Saad district (30 km south of Baaquba), killing one civilian and destroying three houses,” the source told IraqiNews.com. “The village is still blockaded by al-Qaeda members up until this moment in time,” the source noted. 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). 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. SS (S) 1