Updated at 7:45 p.m. EDT, July 4, 2009
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden celebrated the U.S. Independence Day with his son who is serving in Iraq. A scheduled trip to Arbil, however, was canceled due to sandstorms. Meanwhile, at least seven Iraqis were killed and 21 more were wounded in the latest violence. No Coalition deaths were reported.
In Baghdad, A pair of bombs in Bayaa wounded five civilians.
One person was killed and 15 others were wounded when a bomb exploded within a Yusufiya vegetable market.
In Mosul, one policeman and two brothers were killed in separate incidents. A contractor was killed in a third incident. A bombing left one civilian with injuries. Turkmen held a peaceful demonstration asking to end talk of Kurdistan annexing parts of the city.
Gunmen killed a policeman in Kirkuk. A peshmerga fighter was killed in a separate shooting. A man was arrested in connection with a recent bombing that killed 33 people.
In Baquba, a roadside bomb wounded an Iraqi soldier; the bomber was captured. Explosives were discovered in a home.
A policeman was wounded in Tikrit when a roadside bomb blasted his vehicle.
An al-Qaeda suspect was arrested in Suwayra with rockets in his possession.
Nine suspects were captured in Jalawla.
In Kut, a special groups leader was detained. “Special groups” refers to gunmen that the U.S. believes are supported by Iran.
Security forces arrested an Islamic State of Iraq mufti in Buhriz.
Dhi Qar police seized 800 ground-to-air missiles in Souk al-Shyoukh. They also defused a bomb near Nasariya.
Two I.E.D.s were defused in Muqdadiya.
Twenty-four detainees were freed in Fallujah for lack of evidence.
