Clashes between police and gunmen northeast of Baghdad on Thursday killed 30 people and injured 42, the provincial police chief said. The fighting around Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of the capital, included 12 police officers and 18 gunmen, said Ghassan al-Bawi, police chief of surrounding Diyala province.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi interior ministry ordered the holiest shrine in Shiite Islam closed for several hours, amid fears of an imminent sectarian attack. According to AFP, authorities ordered pilgrims to stay away from mosques and shrines in the holy city of Najaf -- including the revered mausoleum of Imam Ali, the most important site of worship in the Shiite world.
"We had information that Al-Qaeda is preparing a plan to carry out attacks on holy sites in Najaf," city police chief Colonel Abdel Karim Mustapha said. "We told the interior ministry, which issued the order that the mausoleum be closed until further notice," he added.
Four hours later, Mustapha said that the shrine had been reopened "after the appropriate security measures had been taken."
