At least eight Iraqis were killed, most of them in Turkish air strikes, and another 14 were wounded in attacks across the country.
The mayor of Qalat Dizah reported the deaths of seven civilians during a Turkish air strike on Golle. Although the remains were charred beyond recognition, authorities believe the victims were members of a family fleeing Turkish operations. Material losses have been reported as well. Turkey has been conducting air strikes against Kurdistan Workers Party (P.K.K.) targets since the rebels killed 11 Turkish soldiers on Wednesday.
These are first such deaths reported from Turkish activities in the Kurdish Autonomous Region along the northern borders of Iraq. Last month, Iranian operations against Party of a Free Life of Kurdistan (P.J.A.K.) rebels, an offshoot of the P.K.K., left at least four civilians and an unknown number of rebels dead. Due to the remoteness of the region, independent confirmation of casualties is difficult at best.
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters separately announced today that they would not take part in any actions against Turkish and Iranian forces. They consider the matter "political" in nature and feel it should be resolved diplomatically by the central government, which has not done enough in their view. Furthermore, Iraqi Speaker Arif Tayfur called on the international community to mediate between the affected countries. Meanwhile, Kurdish opposition party, Goran, issued a statement criticizing the Kurdish Regional Government for not taking an authoritative stance against the foreign operations either.
A Peshmerga fighter was found dead in Sadr City and bearing torture and suffocation marks.
In Baghdad, a double bombing wounded four security personnel and two civilians in the Hurriya district. A sticky bomb in Utifiya wounded three people. Two people were wounded in a blast in Zaafaraniya.
A bombing in Mosul wounded two policemen. The provincial traffic director was arrested during a joint U.S.-Iraqi operation involving helicopters.
In Kirkuk, a civilian lost a leg during a blast. A suspect was arrested. Kurdish Asayesh agents arrested an imam on terror charges.
A U.S. army vehicle was damaged during a blast in Diwaniya.
Mortar fire was reported at a U.S. base near Baquba.
Wassit Province tightened security.
