IED injures 6 Sahwa fighters in Diala

DIALA / IraqiNews.com: Six Sahwa fighters were wounded in an improvised explosive device explosion in northeast of Baaquba, said a police source on Wednesday. “An explosive charge went off late Tuesday (Feb. 4) in al-Wehda region in Muqdadiya district, northeast of Baaquba, injuring six Sahwa fighters,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Two of the six were in a serious condition,” he explained. 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