At least two people and four suicide bombers were killed and 25 wounded by the attack of suicide bombers on the provincial council compound in Baquba City, the capital of Iraq's eastern province of Diyala on Tuesday, a provincial police source said.
"Our latest reports said that two people and four suicide bombers were killed, and 25 wounded by the coordinated suicide bomb attack on provincial council building," a source from Diyala' s operations command told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The attack occurred at about 9:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) when a suicide bomber blew up an explosive-laden car at the entrance of Diyala's provincial council compound paving the way to four suicide bombers wearing explosive vests to enter the building of the outer reception at the entrance of the compound, the source said.
One of the four bombers blew himself up inside the reception building while the three others tried to enter the nearby council building, but they were confronted by heavy gunfire by the guards, the source added.
Iraqi security forces, including an Iraqi SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) force, cordoned off the scene and waged an attack on the compound, killing two suicide bombers and wounding another before they captured him, the source said.
Twelve security members were among the 25 wounded and the rest were eight of the council employees and five civilians, the source said.
"The Iraqi security forces ended the attack and the situation is under control," the source said, adding that none of the provincial council members was hurt by the attack.
Earlier an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua that the attack resulted in the killing of three people and the wounding of ten others.
Diyala province, which stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the Iranian border east of the country, has long been a stronghold for al-Qaida militants and other insurgent groups since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 despite repeated U.S. and Iraqi military operations against them.
Go to Forum >>0 Comments