At least five Iraqis were killed or found dead and another seven were wounded. Meanwhile, the fate of 23 “coup plotters” remains unknown, as is the actual reason for their arrests. No Coalition deaths were reported, but parliament again rejected a law that would oversee operations by foreign countries.
The fate of 23 men who had supposedly been arrested on charges of plotting to resurrect the Ba’ath Party is unknown. Conflicting reports have the men being freed or still in detention on charges of forgery and other crimes. Originally, the group was arrested for plotting a coup, but critics of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki believed the arrests to be politically motivated.
U.S. forces released 100 detainees on Saturday. About 15,000 more are in custody, but those will be handed over to Iraqi authorities at the beginning of next year, when the U.S.-Iraqi security pact comes into effect. Also, the federal government reported that only one contractor-related shooting resulted in death during the first ten months of the year.
In Baghdad, three bodies and human bones belonging to at least one other victim were found in the Ur neighborhood. No casualties were reported during a bombing in Allawi.
A bomb exploded in an empty yard in Kut and wounded four people, including a woman.
A bomb in Mandali wounded three Iraqi soldiers.
Iraqi soldiers killed an al-Qaeda suspect in Tikrit.
A police captain and his two brothers were detained for unspecified reasons in Kirkuk.
Two police officers arrested in Diyala province are accused of acts of violence.
Nine suspects were arrested in Babel province.
Compiled by Margaret Griffis
