At least five Iraqis were killed and five more were wounded in light violence that focused in Diyala province, where two Sunni imams were killed. Meanwhile, an Iraqi court threw out the disqualifications of nine candidates accused of ties to the Ba’ath Party.
A Sunni cleric was beheaded in Saidiya. His son reported that four gunmen stormed the home where the beheading took place. The head was then placed on an electrical pole in the town. The 63-year-old cleric was an outspoken al-Qaeda critic and called for national unity.
Another Sunni cleric was killed in al-Bushaneen. Gunmen shot him to death in front of his family.
In Fallujah, gunmen wounded a local official. East of the city, a bomb blasted an army patrol but no casualties were reported.
In an operation north Tikrit, one al-Qaeda suspect was killed.
In Diyala province, one gunman was killed and a second was seriously wounded, when they bomb they were planting exploded on them north of Baquba. A soothsayer was shot to death. Five suspects were detained near the city. A roadside bomb was defused. East of the city, an abducted man was liberated. Also, 28 suspects were arrested across the province.
In Mosul, two women were injured by a roadside bomb blast. Gunmen wounded a civilian.
Police in Kirkuk detonated a bomb safely and found a weapons cache.
Police arrested an Awakening Council member in Buhriz on suspicion of helping to bring a car bomb into the province.
A suspect in the Hilla bombing last week was captured.
Eight suspects were arrested in Aziz.
Kuwait handed over the bodies of 55 soldiers who were killed during the 1991 Gulf War.
In Baghdad, work has begun on a 15-foot wall that will encircle the city when completed.
