Thursday: 7 Iraqis Killed, 42 Wounded

by , July 02, 2009

Updated at 5:32 p.m. EDT, July, 2, 2009

At least seven Iraqis were killed and 42 more were wounded as Iraqis continued to celebrate National Sovereignty Day. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden made a surprise visit. Meanwhile, Iraq asked Iran and Kuwait for help in locating personnel missing or captured in wars with those two countries. Also, Iraq signed a cooperation agreement with France.

In Baghdad, a bomb planted at a bridge leading to the Green Zone from Karrada killed one Iraqi soldier and wounded 10 others. A bomb in Yusufiya killed two people and wounded 15 others. Two people were wounded by a blast in Waziriya.

In Mosul, gunmen killed a man in the Sabatash Tammuz neighborhood. Three Iraqi soldiers were wounded during a bomb blast in al-Iqtisadiyeen.

One person was killed and six others were wounded in a bomb blast in Fallujah. A bomb was planted on a vehicle carrying Captain Khaled al-Dulaimi. He survived, but his driver was killed.

An army major was killed when gunmen opened fire on him in Kirkuk.

A car bomb in Taza killed one person and wounded six others.

Gunmen kidnapped a 15-year-old girl in Amara after her father refused or was unable to pay them a ransom.

About 42,000 Iraqi security personnel have now taken over responsibility for Diyala province.

Security forces in Najaf paraded in celebration of National Sovereignty Day.

Officials deployed more security personnel ahead of a National Sovereignty Day celebration in Kut Stadium.

Iraq has received 168 U.S. base camps as part of ongoing U.S. withdrawal plans.

In Souq al-Shioukh, security personnel confiscated 1,350 missiles.

Three improvised explosive devices were seized in Hawija.

Three missiles were seized in Hamar.

The Interior Ministry claims a 100% cut in the number of overseas gunmen entering Iraq.

Despite the close ties between Shi’ite clerics in Iraq and government in Iran, the Iraqis have kept close their feelings about unrest in Iran.

The U.S. Treasury seized the assests of the Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis organization in Iraq and the Iranian-based Kata’ib Hizballah committing, directing or supporting acts of violence in Iraq. Also, the FBI de-classified documents containing interviews conducted with Saddam Hussein while he was incarcerated.

Read more by Margaret Griffis