Updated at 5:31 p.m. EDT, June 11, 2009
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned that attacks could increase as a US pullout date approaches. In today’s violence at least 11 Iraqis were killed and 29 more were wounded. An American soldier was wounded alongside a number of the Iraqis.
Prime Minister Maliki warned of increasing violence ahead of a June 30 pullout date, when most U.S. troops will withdraw from major Iraqi cities. The date could be too tempting for militant groups to simply ignore even though attacks have significantly dropped off in recent months. Not only are there fewer violent events, but many of the reporters stationed in Iraq have also left the country, reducing the number of events that get reported. Meanwhile, the Marine Corps announced that almost all 16,000 Marines will leave completely Iraq by next spring.
A new twist in the case of five U.S. contractors held by Iraqi authorities has left two of the five in custody while the others were released on bond. They were originally detained in connection with the murder of a fellow colleague. Yesterday, a judge ruled there was not enough evidence to hold them, and the charges were lowered to unlicensed weapons possession. The two contractors remaining in custody are now mysteriously being held on drug charges.
Three Iraqi soldiers were killed and nine more were wounded during a bombing in Hawija. Eight suspects were arrested during the raids in which the soldiers were participating.
A roadside bomb in Hamrim killed a seven-year-old and wounded two other children.
An anti-aircraft missile exploded inside a home in Biji. Two children were killed.
The body of a young boy was discovered in Tikrit.
In Baghdad, a bomb targeting a U.S. patrol in Rusafa killed an Iraqi man, wounded three Iraqis and an American soldier. A sticky bomb wounded three in Mansour. Near Mustansiriya Square, another bomb wounded four people.
Two people were killed and three more were wounded during a blast in Karbala. A man killed on a bicycle may have been a suicide bomber or just an innocent victim.
In Mosul, a policeman was killed and five people were wounded, when a bomb blasted an Iraqi patrol.
Two suspects were arrested in connection with yesterday’s bombing near Nasariya. A five-year-old girl was liberated in a second incident. Her kidnapper was arrested.
Twenty-one suspects were detained in Basra. Vehicles and munitions were seized.
Eight suspects were captured near Kut in Dariya.
The Justice Ministry released 134 detainees cleared of their charges.
A day after Turkey and Iraq announced a military cooperation agreement, Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi asked the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to disarm or leave Iraq. For over two decades, the PKK has sought an independent Kurdistan across parts of Iraq, Turkey, and other countries. Recently, the PKK offered Turkey a truce, but Turkey rejected it.
