At least four Iraqis were killed and 14 more were wounded across the country. One of the attacks was directed at an important Sunni leader in Anbar province. Meanwhile, Turkey claims to have killed approximately 100 Kurdish rebels in the north. Despite Kurdish demands for Washington to step in and stop the Turkish campaign, the U.S. has given tacit approval for continuing the operations.
The Turkish military is claiming extensive air and artillery strikes have left almost 100 Kurdish rebels dead in northern Iraq, while another 80 have been wounded. A spokesman for the Kurdistan Workers Party (P.K.K.) denied the claim and admitted just three deaths among the rebels. Local authorities further confirmed that another seven fatalities were members of a family fleeing the Turkish operations.
Due to the remoteness of the area, independent confirmation of any casualty figures is nearly impossible, and both the Turkish authorities and P.K.K. are regularly accused of exaggerating the numbers. For decades, the P.K.K. has been engaged in a guerilla war against Turkey that has left tens of thousands dead. Recent attempts at creating a peace dialogue have failed, and since May the P.K.K. has taken a mostly threatening stance towards Turkey. However, deadly cross-border attacks do occur yearly in the warmer months when it is easier to cross the mountains into Turkey. They generally cease in the winter months.
Meanwhile, the Kurdistan parliament criticized the U.S. government for ignoring the threat to Iraqi sovereignty. The Iraqi military appears to be unable or unwilling to deal forcefully with any incursions from neighboring countries, and the Kurds feel it is the U.S.’s responsibility to protect Iraq. However, U.S. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland separately said that Turkey has the right to protect itself from the rebels and only cautioned Ankara to keep close ties with Baghdad during operations.
Police in Hay al-Jubour accused the U.S. military of conducting a raid without notifying authorities. When the troops did not find the accused man they wanted, the suspect’s two brothers were detained instead.
A bomb attack against Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, who was traveling on a road between Falluja and Abu Ghraib, left two bodyguards wounded.
In Baghdad, gunmen killed a university professor and wounded his son at their Adil home. A roadside bomb in Karrada wounded two people. Three people were wounded in a blast close to a kindergarten on Abu Nawas Street.
A sticky bomb killed an oil policeman and wounded his father in Qayara.
Gunmen killed a farmer in Riyadh.
Gunmen in Baquba killed a civilian.
In Mussayab, a bomb wounded two children.
An oil refinery employee was wounded during a shooting in Zab.
A sticky bomb in Garma wounded a policeman.
In Hit, a third person was wounded in a previously reported incident.
Thirteen suspects were captured across Diyala province.
Six suspects were arrested in Shirqat.
