Armed attack kills, wounds 3 Sahwa fighters

DIALA / IraqiNews.com: Six Sahwa (Awakening) council fighters were killed or wounded in an armed attack near Baaquba city, a local police source said on Saturday. “Today, three Sahwa fighters were killed and three others were wounded in an attack launched by 15 gunmen believed to belong to al-Qaeda network on a checkpoint in al-Wajihiya district (45 km northeast of Baaquba),” the source told IraqiNews.com. 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). 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