Iraq army prepares to move into gunmen-held town
Source: The Daily Star [Lebanon]
KIRKUK, Iraq: Iraq's army deployed reinforcements around Sulaiman Bek and was preparing Thursday to move into the northern town, a day after it was seized by a group of gunmen, official sources said.
Also Thursday, a spokesman for now-dispersed protesters near the town of Hawijah in northern Iraq, where the latest wave of violence began on Tuesday, vowed to seek revenge for a "massacre" at the protest site, where clashes killed 53 people.
The unidentified gunmen swarmed into Sulaiman Bek on Wednesday after deadly fighting with the security forces, who pulled back in the face of the offensive as residents fled.
"We withdrew tactically so we can work on clearing the area completely, after we knew that the residents had left," a high-ranking army officer told AFP. "We will clean the region corner by corner, and we will not allow any attack against the safety of citizens," the officer said.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Apr-25/215022-iraq-gunmen-storm-small-sunni-town-near-baghdad.ashx#axzz2RMj2Fv00
