By Corey William
At least 21 people died today when gunmen wearing military uniforms and suicide bomb belts attacked a local government headquarters in northern Iraq to take hostages. Provincial governor Ahmed Abdullah said that three lawmakers were inside the Salahuddin provincial council building in Tikrit at the time of attack and they are still missing. Abdullah added that all attempts to contact the lawmakers had proved futile, raising fear that they may be held hostage.
"We've lost contact with three provincial council members who were inside the building when the attack took place," Abdullah said to KATU. The governor added that fierce shootout took place between at least eight gunmen and Iraqi security forces. He added that the gunmen hurled grenades at Iraqi forces.
Salahuddin province media adviser Mohammed al-Asi added that the fight was still ongoing and sixty-five people have been wounded so far. A senior intelligence official in Baghdad confirmed that some people were taken as hostages but he did not specify the number. "The goal of the attackers was apparently to take hostages," Salahuddin government spokesman Ali al-Saleh said. “At least some officials and government employees escaped before they the gunmen could capture them,” he added. Tikrit is 80 miles north of Baghdad.
The meeting of the provincial council happens at the headquarters every Tuesday. A spokesman for the governor, Ali Abdul Rihman, said that today’s meeting was called off early because there was little on the agenda of the lawmakers. "The gunmen were armed with grenades, and began their raid by firing at random at a reception room," Rihman said. "Then they opened fire inside."
