Violence was light today, but several stories that are all possibly election related made the headlines. The most important ones are the creation of a new Ba’athist blacklist, attacks against Christians, and the strange story about 67 unidentified bodies that a candidate told at a press conference. Unless those 67 corpses turn up, only one Iraqi was killed today and five more were wounded.
read moreTuesday: 1 US Soldier, 14 Iraqis Killed; 16 Iraqis Wounded
Updated at 7:15 p.m. EST, Feb. 23, 2010
With elections just a couple weeks away, the Iraqi government will continue using fraudulent bomb-detection devices even as Baghdad residents brace themselves for more pre-election violence. At least 14 Iraqis were killed and 16 were wounded in light violence today. Also, a U.S. soldier was killed in a vehicular accident in Baghdad today.
read moreMonday: 44 Iraqis Killed, 18 Wounded
At least 31 Iraqis were killed and 15 more were wounded in a storm of attacks across the country. Most of the attacks occurred in and around Baghdad, which has been unusually quiet in recent days. Also, Gen. Ray Odierno admitted that there is a “Plan B” for a slower drawdown of U.S. forces should the political landscape remain chaotic after March elections.
read moreSunday: 2 US Pilots, 10 Iraqis Killed; 20 Iraqis Wounded
Updated at 7:34 p.m. EST, Feb. 21, 2010
At least 10 Iraqis were killed and 20 more were wounded in various attacks across Iraq. Two U.S. helicopter pilots were killed during a hard landing at a base in northern Iraq. Meanwhile, analysts wonder what the withdrawal of a key Sunni group from March elections will mean for Iraq, and whether it will re-ignite the sectarian bloodshed..
read moreSaturday: 6 Iraqis Killed, 2 Wounded
Only three Iraqis were reported killed on a very quiet day. Iraqis are still concerned over the fallout of a candidate blacklist that could nullify the legitimacy of the elections. Some Iraqis face a long jail term if they choose to criticize the elections through vandalism.
read moreFriday: 2 Iraqis Killed, 1 Wounded
The first official boycott of March 7 elections was called when MP Mutlaq took himself and his party out of the running. The prayer day was otherwise fairly quiet with only two Iraqis having been reported killed while a third Iraqi was wounded. Also, Iraq has rejected international calls to end its death penalty.
read moreThursday: 14 Iraqis Killed, 58 Wounded
A pair of attacks in two major cities took the lion’s share of casualties today. At least 14 Iraqis were killed and 55 more wounded across the country. Meanwhile, many provincial governments and agencies are tightening security ahead of elections, but they have also given journalists more freedom to cover them.
read moreWednesday: 8 Iraqis Killed, 5 Wounded
Memories of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib have resurfaced as a military appeals court reviews whether the judge in one case conducted the trial properly. Meanwhile, Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani encouraged voters to participate in next month’s national elections. At least eight Iraqis were killed and five more were wounded in light violence. Also, there are rumors that the Mahdi Army may be resurfacing as sectarian violence appears to be re-igniting.
read moreTuesday: 10 Iraqis Killed, 26 Wounded
The U.S. military reports that troop levels are now the lowest since the 2003 invasion and will remain at 98,000 until after March elections, even as Iraqi soldiers prepare to handle poll-related violence themselves. At least 10 Iraqis were killed and 26 were wounded in new attacks, some election-related. Also, the families of Iraqi detainees are paying blood money to protect their sons upon release.
read moreMonday: 10 Iraqis Killed, 10 Wounded
Updated at 10:27 p.m. EST, Feb. 15, 2010
At least 10 Iraqis were killed and 10 more were wounded in light violence, some of which struck out at election candidates. Meanwhile, the controversy of an elections ban that threatens to destabilize the country continues to dominate the headlines. Also, there was new testimony at a British inquiry into the death of an Iraqi hotel worker at the hands of British troops.
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