Kirkuk was again the most active province for violence today, but Baghdad saw several attacks as well. There was bloodshed in Anbar and Diyala provinces too, bringing today’s casualties to at least 12 dead and 44 wounded.
A series of bomb attacks in and around Baghdad unnerved Iraqis just as the British mission in Iraq came to a close Sunday. Many of the bombs targeted police and other security forces. Some of them exploded simultaneously even though they were miles apart. At least 29 Iraqis were killed and 108 more were wounded in those and other attacks. Also, two U.S. soldiers were killed and three more were wounded when a bomb exploded near them in Baghdad. A U.S. convoy in Wassit province was targeted too, but no casualties were reported.
Violence appeared to target mostly Ninewa province, or, at least, the most
reports came from there. At least nine Iraqis were killed and nine more were
wounded in those and other attacks.
As Iraqi refugees are returning home from a number of Arab countries in turmoil, at least seven of their fellow countrymen were killed during violence at home. Another 19 were wounded.
Three bomb blasts rattled the northern city of Kirkuk just days after U.S. troops handed over a provincial base to their Iraqi counterparts and a day after the highest ranking al-Qaeda leader was captured in Samarra. At least 37 Iraqis were killed and 110 more were wounded in those attacks and others across the country.
At least nine Iraqis were killed and eight more were wounded in the latest violence. Amidst rising concern for U.S. troops in heavily Shi’ite southern Iraq, one attack targeted Americans in Kut, but harmed Iraqis instead.
At least 15 Iraqis were killed and 31 more were wounded on a fairly active day. Baghdad suffered the most violence, but several cities north of the capital also saw attacks.
What would have been a second day of unusually light violence was upset by the discovery of a mass grave in Anbar province. Including those deaths, at least 21 Iraqis were killed and three more were wounded, all the rest in Baghdad.
At least six Iraqis were killed and 18 more were wounded in a series of small attacks that including the assassination of a former Iraqiya candidate and a near miss at the home of another.
Without admitting a need for continued U.S. military presence in Iraq or that he would prefer American troops stay past a Dec. 31 withdrawal date, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki backtracked from previous statements against mission extension and opened the door to such discussions. He now says he will only ask for an extension if there is strong support across Iraq’s political blocs. Meanwhile, light violence left two Iraqis dead and 16 wounded across central and northern Iraq.
