Updated at 11:51 p.m EST, Jan. 24, 2010
As Arbaeen observances culminate, the violence towards pilgrims continues. At least 29 were killed and 181 more were wounded in attacks across the country, but the deadliest occurred just outside Karbala. While most of the casualties, if not all, were Iraqi, some of the pilgrims may have been foreigners. Meanwhile, new allegations against an elite security force overseen directly by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki are surfacing.
Only a day after a deadly attack against police recruits in Tikrit, another suicide bomber struck at a police training center in Baquba. Shi’ite pilgrims were also targeted for the second day in a row. Overall, at least 22 Iraqis were killed and 141 more were wounded ahead of Arbaeen observances, which culminate next week.
At least 66 Iraqis were killed and 175 more were wounded, mostly in one attack in Tikrit. The rest of the reported attacks were in Baghdad or just north of the capital. The curious lack of reporting outside of central Iraq likely is due to a lack of reporters, or perhaps censorship, than an actual decrease in attacks. What little news does escape point to daily attacks still occurring in some cities, such as Mosul.
At least nine Iraqis were killed and 22 more were wounded in attacks across central and northern Iraq. To the south, Kuwait is planning to clean oil contamination left from the 1990 Gulf War.
For the third time in the last week, the only reported attacks against Iraqis occurred in Baghdad where at least one Iraqi was killed and 14 more were wounded in three attacks. It is unlikely that the only attacks occurred there, considering that there are other major cities where violence occurs on a daily basis. …
Continue reading “Sunday: 1 Iraqi Killed, 14 Wounded”
The Iraqi government is investigating a shootout between the Kuwaiti Coast Guard and a group of Iraqi fishermen that left one Kuwaiti dead. Meanwhile, at least two Iraqis were killed and 42 more were wounded in this and other incidents.
At least five Iraqis were killed and 13 more were wounded in new violence. Several more were wounded in Baghdad, but no figures were released. Meanwhile, Diyala provincial police reported arrested almost 10,000 suspects last year. They also noted that 1,876 policemen were killed and just over 3,000 were wounded during 2010. Many of these casualties went unreported in western media sources.
Only seven Iraqis were wounded in very light violence; however there are reports coming out of Camp Ashraf that claim 176 Iranians were wounded during a raid on Friday.
Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr drew thousands of Iraqis to his first speech since returning home from Iran. Al-Sadr spoke of resisting the United States but also allowing American troops the opportunity to leave in a “suitable” way. He also gave support to the government he once fought and which had, or perhaps still has, a warrant out for his arrest. Meanwhile, at least four Iraqis were killed and 10 more were wounded in light violence. No reports escaped Baghdad today even though “bombings and shooting remain a daily occurrence in the Iraqi capital.”
A huge military parade in Baghdad marked the 90th anniversary of the founding of Iraq’s army, but other than the arrests of a number of suspects, the day was very peaceful security-wise. Only was person was reported killed, while another wounded. Meanwhile, the Pentagon ordered the largest budget cuts since before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York City; the drawdown of troops in Iraq should help keep costs down.
