Thanks to Eid al-Fitr observances, violence seemingly took a holiday. Only four Iraqis were reported killed over the last pair of days. Another 12 were wounded.
Iraq will pay $400 million to compensate Americans who claim they were abused under Saddam’ regime. Many Iraqis, angry over abuse they themselves have suffered under both Saddam and U.S. forces, question why they should pay this money.
The United States is encouraging Iraq to implement a new power-sharing deal that would retain Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki but curb his powers in a coalition government.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his Syrian counterpart, Mohammad Najri Otri, spoke for the first time since Aug 2009 when Maliki accused the neighboring country of harboring Ba’ath Party members who planned deadly attacks that had occurred in Baghdad.
Iranian authorities have rejected releasing American hiker, Sarah Shourd, who was detained over a year ago after crossing the border from Iraqi Kurdistan into Iran.
Two people were killed and five others were wounded during clashes in Hadeed. The first death, that of an insurgent, occurred during a clash with police. As police and Iraqi soldiers searched for suspects, two blasts left more casualties.
In Baghdad, two people were killed and four others wounded during a rocket attack in the Karrada district.
Two separate explosions wounded three policemen in Samarra.
Security was tightened at Kirkuk churches over concerns surrounding a now-canceled Qur’an burning ceremony.
Soldiers in Numaniya arrested a man dressed in a suicide vest before he could enter an amusement park.
An arms cache was seized in Loqman.
