Updated at 11:02 p.m. ESt, Feb. 21, 2009
At least four Iraqis were killed and 9 more were wounded during light violence. A U.S. soldier was killed in combat in Baghdad, while the DoD reported another soldier died from non-combat-related injuries. Also, Iraqi officials formally opened a remodeled and renamed Abu Ghraib prison, which was infamous for a U.S. torture scandal.
In political news, a Kurdish politician, whose list won a third of the vote in Ninewa province, has said he is willing to work with Sunni Arabs so long as they respect Kurdish territorial claims. The Kurds would like the government to hold a referendum that will decide if historically Kurdish areas can politically join the Kurdish Autonomous Region.
Meanwhile, the Sadrists are nearing a coalition deal that will ally them Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The group was at odds with Maliki after their leader, Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, accused him of not doing enough to rid Iraq of U.S. forces.
A gunshot-riddled body was found in Makhmour.
A bomb attached to a policeman’s car in Tikrit killed him when it was detonated.
Gunmen killed a policeman during a drive-by shooting in Diwaniya.
An Iraqi soldier was wounded during a roadside bombing near Kirkuk.
In Mosul, a roadside bomb wounded an Iraqi soldier. Ten suspects were captured. Four gunmen were arrested. Two men were arrested at a home used for building improvised explosive devices; chlorine was recovered among other ingredients. Dozens more were arrested in raids.
In Baghdad, a bomb blast wounded the commander of a local Awakening Council. A pair of bombs in Mansour wounded four civilians.
South of Hilla, gunmen killed a political candidate.
Two gunmen were wounded while planting a roadside bomb in Jurf al-Sakhar.
A gunman was arrested in Qarat Tabba on suspicion of killing nine Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.
A cache of ammunition was found in Missan.
Nineteen suspects were arrested across Diyala province.
Eleven suspects were captured in Dhi Qar.
A suspect was captured in Hilla.
Compiled by Margaret Griffis
