At least 24 Iraqis were killed and 53 more were wounded. Targeted assassination continued in Baghdad and elsewhere, but a large blast occurred in the capital as well. Meanwhile, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said a recent meeting with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki left him believing that a small force of U.S. troops needs to remain after 2011.
In Baghdad, a car bomb rocked the poor, Shi’ite neighborhood of Abu Dsheer, leaving 16 dead and 37 wounded. Another blast killed a driver and wounded two others, including the grain board director. Nearby, a bomb killed a female government employee. Three people were wounded in a bomb blast in Doura. Another blast left one person with injuries in Nasser Square. Two civilians were shot dead last night in Hurriya.
A blast in Nimrud killed the police chief and wounded five others, including four guards and a driver.
A landmine near Arbil in Souraa killed one civilian and wounded three children.
Gunmen killed a civilian in Kut.
In Hashimiyat, gunmen killed an Awakening Council member.
An army officer was wounded in Muqdadiya.
A blast near the Basra home of an Integrity Commission employee wounded him. No casualties were reported after a Katyusha rocket attack at the U.S. base in the airport.
Three al-Qaeda suspects were captured in Tawilya during a joint U.S.-Iraqi operation.
