Militants storm Baghdad government office, kill 2

BAGHDAD (AP) — Militants stormed a government office in eastern Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least two employees and triggering a firefight with police as security forces besieged the building official said.

The brazen attack comes as Iraq is grappling with a stubborn insurgency in the country's western Anbar province. The insurgency, led by a local al-Qaida branch, seeks to undermine government efforts to maintain security ahead of national elections on April 30.

At least six gunmen were involved in Thursday's attack, said Interior Ministry spokesman, Saad Maan Ibrahim. The attackers stormed the state-run Company for Transportation in Baghdad's Canal Street, where numerous government offices are located.

The police shot and killed three of the militants while the rest barricaded themselves inside the building, Maan told state TV. He told The Associated Press that at least two employees were killed in the attack, but gave no details on how they died.

Security forces managed to get most of the employees out of the building, he added, but it was unclear how many remained inside and if they were taken hostage.

Iraqi troops sealed off the area as armed vehicles rushed to the scene. At least one army helicopters was seen hovering overhead.

Kamil Amin, a spokesman for the Human Rights Ministry, which has an office next to the attacked building, said security measures were beefed up in the area.

"We sent our employees home to save them from the violence that is going on in the building next to us," Ameen said, adding that sporadic shooting was still underway.

Last year, insurgents — some of them suicide bombers — unleashed a large and carefully planned assault that included car bombs and gunmen disguised as police on the Iraqi Justice Ministry, killing at least 24 people.

In that attack, about six gunmen wearing police uniforms stormed the ministry's building and one-hour battle erupted between the intruders and the security force. The security forces cleared the building after killing all the attackers.

Also Thursday, a parked car bomb ripped through a market in Baghdad's northern Kasra neighborhood, killing at least four people and wounding 11, a police officer and a medical official said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

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Associated Press writer Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report from Baghdad.

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