Reports of violence were scant today, possibly because Hajj observances begin tomorrow in Mecca. Only two Iraqis were killed and one more was wounded. Also, gunmen, reportedly using a thermal bomb, killed a U.S. soldier in Kirkuk yesterday. He is the first servicemember to die in combat since President Obama, on Oct. 21, said the White House had given up on negotiations to keep troops in Iraq past a Dec. 31 deadline. Another attack on U.S. troops today left no casualties.
A policeman was killed in Falluja when an I.E.D. explosive.
A sticky bomb wounded a policeman in Shirqat.
In Mosul, police killed a suicide bomber before he could detonate his explosives vest.
