Militants seize Iraqi city council

Militants seized the city council headquarters in the Iraqi city of Samarra and took employees hostage Tuesday, officials said, in the second such attack in the central Salaheddin province in recent months. Clashes broke out between security forces and two militants, possibly wearing explosives-rigged vests or belts, who took the headquarters, while a suicide bomber targeted police and anti-Al-Qaeda militiamen when they arrived at the scene, according to AFP.