US-led air and ground assaults in the Iraqi province of Diyala have killed at least 33 gunmen, the military said on Tuesday. According to AFP, it said several hundred US and Iraqi troops took part in the operation in the town of Gobia in Diyala on Monday.
"The pre-dawn assault, involving several hundred Iraqi and coalition forces, defeated numerous small-arms attacks throughout the day resulting in a combined 13 insurgents killed," a military statement said. The military said the clashes occurred when security forces were carrying out a mission to restore essential services to the nearby key town of Khalis.
Meanwhile, pilgrims flooded the Iraqi shrine city of Karbala on Tuesday for a festival celebrating a revered eighth-century Shiite imam, amid appeals for calm after police gunfire killed five devotees. Amid tight security, police said they expect two million pilgrims to gather in Karbala to observe the birth anniversary of Mohammed al-Mahdi, the 12th imam of Shiite Islam, who the faithful believe disappeared from the northern Iraqi town of Samarra and will return one day to save the world.
On Monday evening police fired on angry crowds, killing five pilgrims and injuring 30. According to AFP, witnesses said the clashes were sparked when devotees became furious at the long delays at checkpoints set up by the security forces.
"The shooting by police killed and injured many," said a security official. A medic at the Al-Hussein Hospital said five bodies were brought to the facility and 30 wounded people were admitted.
