Bloody Weekend: 200 Iraqis, 12 GIs Killed; 164 Iraqis, 7 GIs Injured

Updated at 6:25 p.m. EDT, Oct. 23, 2006

Six American servicemembers were killed on Sunday and another six died on Saturday. Also, a civilian contractor was killed and four U.S. soldiers were injured when a roadside bomb blasted their vehicle as it was traveling outside Baghdad. Another three GIs were wounded in the Salahuddin Province. And as Ramadan winds down in Iraq, at least 118 more Iraqis were killed and 62 others were wounded in Sunday’s violence. Eighty-two Iraqis died and 102 were injured on Saturday.

On Sunday the U.S. military reported that seven servicemembers were killed in combat. The deaths of three Marines on Saturday had already been reported. Another two deaths were reported Monday; a Marine and a soldier were killed in separate incidents. West of Baghdad, two soldiers were killed by small arms fire earlier Sunday. Another soldier met his death when he was blasted by a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad, also Sunday. A roadside bomb killed an unspecified MNF serviceman in western Baghdad, while a second unspecified MNF serviceman died from small arms fire in southwestern Baghdad. In the Salahuddin province, one American soldier was killed and another three were wounded during combat late Saturday, and a Marine was killed in Anbar Province. The military said he died from wounds received during combat.

In Baghdad, 50 unidentified bodies were found scattered around the capital; many were bound, tortured and/or shot. Six people were killed and 20 others wounded when a suicide bomber detonated himself on Palestine Street. A roadside bomb left under a car near the Al-Arabi market on Al Rashid Street killed three and injured 6 other people; a few minutes later a mortar fell on a nearby restaurant injuring two people. A double blast killed an unspecified number of people in eastern Baghdad; at least four were also wounded. Three others were killed and 14 more injured at a double bombing at the Shurja market, Baghdad’s oldest and busiest. Double bombings are a favored tactic because the first explosion draws in spectators and first responders to be blasted by the second.

Also in the capital, gunmen in the Yarmuk district killed two street cleaners. In the Amil neighborhood, gunmen killed a barber. And U.S. forces came upon a group of gunmen planting a roadside bomb in the Doura district; five of the men were killed and another was wounded after aircraft were called to the scene.

Near Mahaweel, a roadside bomb blasted a car, killing the civilian within it.

In Haditha, four people were killed and five others wounded in clashes between U.S. forces and gunmen.

Gunmen killed the man suspected of planting bicycle bombs at a Mahmudiya marketplace yesterday.

In Mosul, five bodies, one belonging to a policeman and all bearing gunshot wounds, were discovered.

Gunmen in Kut killed Ali Hussein Sultan al-Zargan, a former Baath party member.

In Shujeiriya, clashes between Sunni and Shi’te tribes left nine dead.

One policeman was killed and his son was injured by gunfire in Kirkuk. Mortars also fell on the army headquarters, but no casualties were reported.

Near Baquba, gunmen attacked a police convoy. Fifteen police recruits were killed, 25 were wounded and several were kidnapped. Gunmen also killed two random persons.

Four militiamen died in Karmah when the roadside bomb they were planted exploded prematurely.

In Khalis, Major Ali Ahmed was killed by gunmen. His driver and another were wounded.

Four bodies bearing gunshot wounds were found in Basra.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis

Author: Margaret Griffis

Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006.