This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7206391.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Iraqi police chief dies in ambush | Iraqi police chief dies in ambush |
| (19 minutes later) | |
| An Iraqi police chief has died in an apparent ambush as he toured the site of a blast that had killed at least 34 people in the northern city of Mosul. | |
| Brig Gen Saleh Mohammed Hassan was fleeing the area after gunmen opened fire on his convoy, reports say. | Brig Gen Saleh Mohammed Hassan was fleeing the area after gunmen opened fire on his convoy, reports say. |
| The convoy was hit by an explosion that also killed two other police officers. The cause of the blast is unconfirmed. | The convoy was hit by an explosion that also killed two other police officers. The cause of the blast is unconfirmed. |
| More than 200 bystanders were hurt on Wednesday in a huge blast as troops were surrounding a block of flats. | |
| Provincial officials increased the confirmed death toll from 20 on Thursday and said it may rise further. | |
| "Whole families have vanished, there are still people trapped under the rubble," said council chief Hisham al-Hamdani. | |
| The ethnically mixed city of Mosul has seen an upsurge in violence in the past year. | The ethnically mixed city of Mosul has seen an upsurge in violence in the past year. |
| Correspondents say the increased violence appears to be a consequence of the offensive by US-led forces in and around Baghdad, with Sunni Arab insurgents believed to have transferred their operations further north. | Correspondents say the increased violence appears to be a consequence of the offensive by US-led forces in and around Baghdad, with Sunni Arab insurgents believed to have transferred their operations further north. |
| Searching for survivors | Searching for survivors |
| The BBC's Jonny Dymond in Baghdad says that, all of a sudden, the largest and most divided city in the north appears to be on the edge. | The BBC's Jonny Dymond in Baghdad says that, all of a sudden, the largest and most divided city in the north appears to be on the edge. |
| A police statement said a suicide bomber wearing an explosives vest under an Iraqi police uniform carried out Thursday's attack, but the local military commander told the BBC it had been a roadside bomb. | |
| Iraqi and American military forces had been clearing away the rubble from Wednesday's blast searching for bodies or survivors. | Iraqi and American military forces had been clearing away the rubble from Wednesday's blast searching for bodies or survivors. |
| Brig Gen Hassan, the director of police for Ninevah province, was touring the area when it was ambushed by gunmen. | Brig Gen Hassan, the director of police for Ninevah province, was touring the area when it was ambushed by gunmen. |
| Dozens of buildings were damaged or destroyed in the earlier explosion when what was thought to be an arms cache levelled a three-storey apartment block in one of the poorer areas of western Mosul. | |
| The explosion came as Iraqi troops surrounded the building following a tip-off about a suspected arms cache inside. | The explosion came as Iraqi troops surrounded the building following a tip-off about a suspected arms cache inside. |
| Separately on Thursday, a roadside bomb struck a police patrol in central Baghdad, killing two officers. Two other policemen and three civilians were wounded. | Separately on Thursday, a roadside bomb struck a police patrol in central Baghdad, killing two officers. Two other policemen and three civilians were wounded. |