Al Qaeda fighters in Iraq have seized control of a village in the restive province of Diyala after a two-day battle with a rival Sunni insurgent group, police said on Wednesday. Dozens of fighters from the group arrived in boats on Monday and launched an attack on Al Shuan village on the banks of the Diyala river, police Lieutenant Colonel Ibrahim Al Obeidi said. Members of the rival Brigades of the 1920 Revolution fought back but the Sunni Arab village eventually fell to the Al Qaeda militants.Obeidi said the village had been attacked after its 300 or so inhabitants refused to align with Al Qaeda in its fight against Iraqi and US security forces. “Al Qaeda militants attacked the village two days ago and took control of it (Tuesday),” said Obeidi.
Iraq wants Blackwater replaced after shootout: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki on Wednesday called on the US authorities to replace private security operator Blackwater. “This crime has generated a lot of hatred in the government and the people against Blackwater,” Maliki told reporters. “For their own interests, the Americans should hire a new company to protect their people so they can move freely.”
“This is a big crime and the seventh such crime committed by this company and which has been registered by the interior ministry,” Maliki said.