Today, a human rights organization described the large number of mass graves discovered in recent years in just one Iraqi province. In more recent news, at least 10 Iraqis were killed and 20 more were wounded in fresh attacks.
A non-governmental group, the Iraq Organization for Human Rights, said that 36 mass graves have been found in Diyala province in the last four years. Most of the graves contained the victims of sectarian attacks, but three contained the bodies of al-Qaeda links militants. One grave was said to contain children killed by U.S. forces. The total number of bodies was not given.
Members of the Awakening Councils (Sahwa) are having a difficult time adjusting to the new order in Iraq. Although Baghdad promised to fold them into the regular security forces, they cannot seem to get these jobs. And, even if the central government did trust these ex-fighters, their fellow Sunnis would brand them as traitors if they took the jobs. They also remain a favorite target for militant attacks.
Gunmen stormed a Sahwa leader’s home in Garma and killed two women living there. The man’s brother was also murdered.
A Yazidi couple was killed during a home invasion in Sinjar.
In Baghdad, the final figures from yesterday’s funeral bombing reached 32 dead and 71 wounded, or six more wounded than had previously been reported. A bombing at a soccer filed in Ghazaliya district killed one person and wounded six others.
A sticky bomb killed a man and wounded his brother in Mahaweel.
A civilian was killed and two others were wounded during a drive-by shooting in Tuz Khormato. Another sticky bomb exploded and wounded a bystander. A third sticky bomb killed a soldier and a civilian.
A shepherd was wounded during an incident involving Iranian revolutionary guards at the border near Darbandikhan.
A soldier was shot and killed in Mosul. A bomb wounded two more soldiers.
