As U.S. soldiers continue to die in Iraq, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates traveled to Iraq to meet with senior government officials and discuss the possibility of extending troop presence beyond the agreed deadline of Dec. 31. Besides the one U.S. soldier who died in a non-combat incident in Mosul on Tuesday, at least four Iraqis were also killed and 15 more were wounded in new incidents. So far this month, another four U.S. soldiers have died.
A blast killed two people and wounded four others near a mosque in al-Rida.
One soldier was killed and eight more were wounded in Basra when the munitions they were carrying exploded.
In Mosul, a bomb targeting an official wounded his driver.
Gunmen in Kirkuk shot and killed a senior official from the notables council.
In Baghdad, a shell fell on a car in Amil, wounding two people. No casualties were reported after a separate shell fell on Camp Rustamiya .
Eight suspects were arrested in the Ramadi area.
Two suspects were arrested and a rocket was discovered in Safra.
Three ammo dumps were discovered in Kut.
