Updated at 5:54 p.m. EDT, Sept. 21, 2008
At least 20 Iraqis were killed and 114 more were wounded in the latest violence. Relatively small but numerous bombings plagued Baghdad, while Kirkuk and Mosul both suffered bomb attacks that left dozens of casualties. No Coalition deaths were reported.
The Interior Ministry launched a new security plan in Diyala province, even as ongoing operations continue. A director said the operation is focused on certain neighborhoods in Baquba. The current plan has already come under fire for targeting local officials and pushing out Kurdish elements in northern areas of the province. In the past, the Interior Ministry was known for harboring Shi’ite death squads set on ethnic cleansing. The need for simultaneous operations was not specified.
In Mosul, a suicide truck bomber killed two policemen and wounded 45 others. Gunmen killed a woman and an generator operator in separate incidents. Two brothers were killed and third one was wounded during an armed attack. Also, two people were wounded when a bomb was detonated under an oil tanker truck.
In Baghdad, gunmen killed an interior ministry official and his driver in Adil. A bomb planted in his car wounded a finance ministry director. Seven people were wounded when a roadside bomb blasted them in Waziriya; a separate bomb wounded five people nearby. In Zaafaraniya, a roadside bomb wounded six people. A planted bomb killed a man in Nosour Square. A bomb blew up on Nidhal St., injuring two people; a second bomb wounded seven others. A bomb in Karrada wounded four people. Gunmen wounded an inspector in New Baghdad. Three dumped bodies were found. Also, 14 suspects were captured.
Three people were killed and 23 more were wounded when a suicide truck bomber struck at a Kirkuk police checkpoint.
Three people were killed and six more were wounded in Jalawla when a roadside bomb blasted their minibus.
Gunmen in Hadba killed one Iraqi soldier and wounded two others.
Two bodies were fished out of a river in Suwayra.
Gunmen in Kut killed an off-duty policeman.
In Tikrit, three people were wounded when a bomb planted under a car exploded.
A weapon’s cache was destroyed in an industrial section of Fallujah.
Authorities in Dhi Qar province said they were working to stop the entry of 20 motorcycle bombs into the province and denied rumors that they were already confiscated.
Iraq and Saudi Arabia exchanged prisoners. Sixteen Iraqis out of 434 will be returned home. Despite being neighbors, the two countries have not had close ties in years, mostly due to suspicions over Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s ties with Shi’ite Iran. Most Saudis are Sunni Muslims.
Compiled by Margaret Griffis
