Baghdad ( CNN ) -- At least nine city and provincial officials were among dozens killed when armed militants took over a government building in Iraq and held hostages this week , Interior Ministry officials told CNN Wednesday . At least two journalists , including CNN contributor Sabah al-Bazi , were among the dead when armed men assaulted and seized the building in Tikrit in northern Iraq on Tuesday . At least 56 people died and 98 others were wounded in the attack , which ended after Iraqi forces launched a raid to take back the building and free the hostages . The United States condemned the `` senseless and brutal attack '' in a statement on Wednesday . The embassy in Baghdad called it `` an attack on the very foundations of democracy that Iraqis have strived so valiantly to build . '' The armed militants , clad in police uniforms , clashed with the Iraqi police , and a suicide car bombing also was reported in the fighting in Tikrit , the capital of Salaheddin Province . Three provincial council members were among the dead , as were six city council members from the nearby town of Shirqat , officials said . Overall violence in Iraq has dropped drastically over the past three years , and the insurgency there has received devastating blows . However , Tuesday 's assault shows that Iraq remains an unstable country and insurgents are still able to carry out deadly attacks . `` This coordinated attack in Tikrit bears the hallmark of al Qaeda in Iraq , and the attackers were planning to take all members of Salaheddin Provincial Council as hostages , '' a senior official with Tikrit police told CNN on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to media . Al-Bazi was a freelancer who worked with Reuters , CNN and Al-Arabiya , according to his cousin Mahmoud Salih , also a freelance journalist . Salih -- who said al-Bazi died in the car bombing -- told CNN his cousin contacted him 30 minutes before he died , asking him whether he wanted to film ammunition seized by security forces . A number of gunmen inside the building were wearing explosive vests , and at least two of the attackers detonated their vests as Iraqi security forces approached , Tikrit police said . Dozens of employees were held hostage inside the building , which houses the provincial council and other government offices . Local TV in Tikrit showed video of smoke rising from the building , surrounded by Iraqi security forces , and aired the sounds of heavy gunfire . The tactics were similar to an attack on a church in Baghdad in October , when gunmen took dozens of hostages , detonated suicide belts , and killed and wounded scores of people . Authorities in Salaheddin announced a three-day mourning period for the victims of Tuesday 's attack . A U.S. military spokeswoman said American troops `` assisted Iraqi security forces with securing the site of the attack and were providing aerial observation and surveillance in support of Iraqi forces on the ground . '' The United States is set to withdraw all of its troops from Iraq at the end of the year in a bilateral agreement with the Iraqi government . However , it is too soon to predict whether the United States and Iraq will negotiate an agreement to keep some U.S. soldiers there after year 's end .
NEW : This means the product will ship as received by the manufacturer, sealed, with all advertised components, and with the manufacturer warranty. Armed militants attacked a government building and held people hostage . A regular CNN contributor is among the dead .