An Australian man was killed on Tuesday in Daquq when the mine he was trying to defuse exploded. He was working for the non-profit Swiss Foundation for Mine Action. He is the second Australian killed in Iraq this month.
Security forces easily entered Rutba today, and have liberated the strategic town near the Syrian and Jordanian borders.
Rivalries among the different Shi’ite militias could ignite a new war within the war. One of these militias is connected to Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. After the bombings in Baghdad today, his Saraya Salam (Peace Brigades), formerly the Mahdi Army, spread out through Sadr City, heavily outnumbering government forces.
Along with the Australian man, at least 183 others were killed and 172 were wounded:
In Baghdad’s Shabb district, 41 people were killed and 70 were wounded in a car bombing; a female suicide bomber set off a second bomb after first responders arrived. A bomb killed eight people and wounded 22 in Doura/Rashid. Nine people were killed and 18 were wounded by a blast outside a Habibiya restaurant.
Also, a car bomb in the Baghdad suburb of Sadr City left 30 dead and 57 wounded. Nine people were killed in a suicide bombing. A suicide bomber was captured by the Peace Brigades, but he was not handed over to security forces.
Four security members were killed and five were wounded during the liberation of Rutba.
Militants killed a farmer in Bezaaz Kanaan.
Airstrikes on Hajj Ali left 40 militants dead.
In Barwana, 15 militants were killed.
Ten militants were killed in Subaihat including a sharia judge.
Security forces killed 10 militants in Haditha.
In Mosul, an armed group killed four militants.
