Bold Attack on Iraqi Police Chief's Home

A gunman and Iraqi civilians inspect the damage after a parked minibus exploded at a bus terminal in the town of Qurna, 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq on Friday, June 8, 2007. Two parked cars exploded simultaneously at a bus terminal in the southern Iraqi town of Qurna on Friday morning, killing at least 15 and wounding 20 others, police reported. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani) (Nabil Al-jurani - AP)

BAGHDAD -- Dozens of gunmen swooped into a police chief's home Friday, killing his wife and two brothers and kidnapping three of his grown children. The senior officer wasn't there, but the bold attack provided a grisly example of the dangers facing Iraqi forces as they try to take over the country's security so American forces can leave.

The attackers, armed with machine guns and rifles, drove up at 6:30 a.m., then battled their way into Col. Ali Dilayan al-Jorani's house on the outskirts of Baqouba, in Diyala province 35 miles northeast of the capital, according to officers at the provincial police center. Eleven guards also were killed, they said.

They said the attackers arrived in "many cars" and abducted two sons and a daughter of al-Jorani, head of central Baqouba's Balda police station. The officers spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared they would be next.

Iraqi police are frequent targets of al-Qaida-linked insurgents bent on ending cooperation between government security forces and U.S. troops in Baghdad and surrounding areas.

At least 751 Iraqi security personnel have been killed since a U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown began on Feb 14. During the same length of time immediately preceding Feb. 14, at least 593 Iraqi security personnel were killed, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press. The actual number in both cases is likely higher as many killings go unreported or uncounted.

The U.S. military recently acknowledged that the rampant violence had forced it divert some attention from training Iraqi troops, who the Americans hope will be ready to assume the fight when American forces pull back.

Diyala province, a hotbed of the Sunni insurgency, has become increasingly dangerous since the beginning of the Baghdad security operation nearly four months ago.

Militants have fled the capital to avoid capture and forced the U.S. military to dispatch about 3,000 more American forces to Diyala from already overtaxed reinforcements arriving in Baghdad.

But the attack on the police chief's home was one of the boldest and bloodiest in months of violence. It also coincided with the shift in loyalty of some Sunni insurgent fighters, who have joined the fight against al-Qaida.

A policeman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisal attacks, said al-Jorani is a Sunni. He said many officers from both Islamic sects have sent their families either outside the province or in some cases, outside the country, and are living in their offices for fear of al-Qaida, which he said is feeling increased pressure as other insurgent groups turn against it in the area.

Al-Qaida has also claimed responsibility for the deadly ambush of a U.S.-Iraqi combat team south of Baghdad on May 12 when militants kidnapped three U.S. soldiers. One of the soldiers was later found dead, and the two others remain missing.

The chief military spokesman in Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, told CNN that the military has been able to identify 17 militants who were involved in the kidnapping and that three of them were currently in custody.