Only two deaths were reported in Iraq today, while a third individual was wounded in a bomb blast. Meanwhile, in response to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden‘s visit, scores of Iraqis staged a demonstration in Najaf calling for an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Although U.S. troops are scheduled to leave by the end of the year, a new agreement allowing them to stay beyond 2011 could be forged. In any case, a large contingent of state department personnel and contractors will likely remain.
A sticky bomb killed a municipal worker in Tikrit.
In Mosul, an off-duty policeman was killed in a sticky bomb blast.
An I.E.D. blast in Mandali wounded one soldier.
In Basra province, 12 Islamic State of Iraq suspects escaped, supposedly with inside help, from a jail where they had been detained for as long as about 12 months without trial. Hundreds, if not thousands, of men have been detained in the province over the last year and have yet to see trial.
Eleven suspects were captured across Diyala province.
A riot broke out in Turkey where 151 suspected Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members and supporters are on trial for their connection to the outlawed group.
