Gunmen take hostages in Tikrit, Iraq

TIKRIT, Iraq, March 29 (UPI) -- At least 12 people were killed Tuesday when gunmen dressed in police uniforms stormed a provincial council office in Tikrit in northern Iraq, officials said.

The New York Times reported about six armed men took hostages and said a standoff was in progress at the building in Salahuddin province between the gunmen -- some wearing suicide bomb vests with hand grenades -- and Iraqi and U.S. forces. One insurgent reportedly detonated a car bomb as the others raced inside the building in Tikrit, hometown of the late dictator Saddam Hussein.

Officials said at least a dozen people were killed in the attack.

Several council members, including the head of the provincial council, escaped as the terrorists entered the building. "We were lucky," council member Ali Ajily told the Times. "The terrorist operation continues, and the armed men are holding ... provincial employees and members of the provincial council."

The U.S. troops later pulled back, leaving the Iraqis in charge of the operation, the newspaper said. Some U.S. soldiers reportedly suffered minor injures.