Claiming to be at a location in Babil province, the former vice president under Saddam Hussein, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, issued a statement supporting the Sunni protestors and disparaging the Iranian influence on the Maliki administration. He is the highest official from the Saddam regime to evade capture. Police then arrested al-Douri’s nephew, Abdul Rahman Mohammed Ibrahim, in Salah ad Din province.

Meanwhile, at least 12 Iraqis were killed and 53 more were wounded.

Three people were killed and 18 more were wounded during a bomb near a police checkpoint in Hilla. Five more people were wounded when explosives were tossed on the scene just a few minutes later.

A car bombing near a produce market in Kanaan left three dead and six wounded.

In Tal Afar, gunmen killed two policemen and a civilian at a checkpoint.

A little girl was killed and 11 others were wounded during a bombing on a minibus in Karbala.

An army soldier was killed and four more were wounded in Saidiya when a bomb targeting a commander of Dijla blasted their patrol. An I.E.D. wounded three more soldiers.

In Falluja, an I.E.D. killed one soldier and wounded two more.

A young man was shot dead in front of his Baquba residence.

A bomb wounded three people in Muqdadiya.

In Baghdad, police liberated an abduction victim and arrested six kidnappers.

A clash took place in Jurf al-Sakhar, but no casualties were reported.

Read more by Margaret Griffis

• Attack on Pilgrims in Iraq Leaves Six Iranians Dead; 14 Iraqis Also Killed – May 25th, 2013
• Twenty Killed in Attacks Focused on Iraqi Security Forces – May 23rd, 2013
• 31 Killed in Iraq, Including 12 Slaughtered in a Baghdad Brothel – May 22nd, 2013
• Sixty Killed, 132 Wounded in Ongoing Iraq Carnage – May 21st, 2013
• Monday Mayhem: 133 Killed, 283 Wounded in Iraq – May 20th, 2013