Updated at 1:05 a.m. EST, Feb. 2, 2007
At least 138 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 205 injured in violent attacks today. The Iraqi Ministry noted that civilian deaths were up in January over December, and the group Reporters Without Borders released its 2006 report on the state of journalism in Iraq. Also, the family of an American soldier reported that the GI succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday.
Reporters Without Borders reported that 65 journalists, including two foreigners, were killed on the job last year. The report also noted that increased restrictions placed on reporters by Iraqi authorities are making it more difficult to provide news reports. These restrictions include banning of news outlets and arrests of journalists. Meanwhile, Iraqi Ministry figures showed that the number of civilian deaths in Iraq rose to 1,971 in January from 1,930 deaths in December.
The U.S. military reported killing a suspected “”foreign terrorist facilitator” and detained 29 other people in multiple operations at several locations. According to a witness, a roadside bomb blasted a U.S. vehicle in Fallujah, but the U.S. military did not confirm it. In another unconfirmed incident, a car bomb exploded near a U.S. convoy in Baghdad.
In Baghdad, a third day of mortar attacks targeted the Adhamiya and Khadamiya districts; four were killed and at least 22 were injured in today’s barrage. In the Karrada district, a suicide bomber blew himself up on a minibus, killing six and wounding 12 others. Another suicide bomber drove his cargo through an Iraqi army checkpoint in Kadhamiya, an unspecified number of people were wounded there. Three people were killed and 12 wounded when a car bomb exploded near a market in Rusafi. Also, 35 bodies were recovered from the streets of various neighborhoods; ten were unidentified.
A double bomb attack at a marketplace in Hilla killed 61 and wounded 150 others.
In Tikrit, the governor of Salah ad Din province, Hamad Humud al-Qeisi, was unharmed after an assassination attempt. A suicide bomber detonated his vest as the governor’s motorcade was stopped outside a Tikrit university; one student was killed and three more injured.
Eleven dumped bodies were discovered in Fallujah.
In Baquba, gunmen stormed the Physical Education College of Diyala and killed the dean, Walhan Hamed al-Rubaie and his son.
Three bodies were found in Mosul; two bodies belonged to students. At least four more bodies were discovered. Two civilians were killed when mortars landed in a residential neighborhood.
No casualties were reported in al-Resalah when Iraqi security forces and gunmen clashed.
Two policemen were killed in Diwaniya, when gunmen attacked their patrol.
Near the Syrian border at Qaem, a car bomb killed three soldiers and killed six others.
Compiled by Margaret Griffis
