LOC13:02
10:02 GMT
By Alaa Al-Huwaijel
BAGHDAD, Oct 20 (KUNA) -- Fire gutted the archive and some equipment of a
newspaper on Saturday and its chief editor said the blazes were triggered by
arsonists.
A police source told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) the fire broke out, today,
at the offices of the newspaper, "Ishraqata Al-Sadr," located on the fringes
of the eastern suburban Al-Sadr suburb of the capital.
Fattah Al-Sheikh, the chief editor, said the fire was started by arsonists,
adding the blazes gutted the archive and some equipment.
The newspaper, close to Al-Sadri trend of the influential cleric, Muqtada
Al-Sadr, was first printed in 2003 shortly after downfall of the Baath regime.
Separately, the American Army said in a statement that a notorious
terrorist, Thamer Ashouri, was killed in a recent raid in the governorate of
Diyala, located northeast of the capital.
Ashouri, who had led 250 insurgents, was killed in the town of Baacouba on
Friday, it said, adding that he was involved in a bomb-making cell, affiliated
with Al-Qaeda organization.
On a main road leading to the town of Al-Eskandaria, a bomb went off today,
killing three civilians and wounding five others, police said.
The town, located in the governorate of Babel south of Baghdad, has
recently witnessed a spate of armed attacks and assassinations that targetted
eminent figures, namely the mayor.
The Iraqi scene has been turbulent since ouster of the Baath regime in
2003, due to a fiery campaign waged by a combination of insurgents. Their
attacks have reportedly claimed at least 700,000 lives. (end)
ah.rk
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