Iraq's interim prime minister said Sunday that all of the country's resources will be directed to fight "terrorism." Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi also appealed for help in improving Iraq's security situation. "Until our forces are fully capable, we will continue to need support from our friends," Allawi said at a news conference. He said the forces especially need equipment.
His comments came after a councilman for the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit was killed Sunday when gunmen opened fire on his car. Azzedine al-Bayati was shot to death on the road east out of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's ancestral hometown, said Gen. Anwar Amin of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps. His driver and bodyguard were injured.
"We believe remnants of the former regime and elements from outside of Iraq are responsible," Amin said.
Meanwhile, U.S. forces clashed with Iraqi fighters north of Baghdad in a battle that killed 10 Iraqis and
wounded 12 others, police and hospital officials said.
Iraqi officials said the clashes took place Saturday in Samarra, about 100 kilometers north of Baghdad.
The dead included six policemen and four civilians caught
in the crossfire, police and an official at a Samarra
hospital, Ahmed Jadoua, said. Two police and 10 civilians
were also wounded.
Elsewhere, an explosion near Iraq's central bank killed one security guard and wounded several people on Sunday, a bank official said.
The official said the attack happened on a road which bank employees use to walk to work.
The blast left a pool of blood near the bank, located in a busy area in central Baghdad. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
