Updated at 11:15 p.m. EST, Feb. 15, 2007
Despite a security crackdown in Baghdad, violence continues unabated throughout Iraq and the capital. At least 132 Iraqis were killed or found dead today and another 82 wounded in various incidents. Also, a Marine was killed during combat operations in Anbar province, and two British soldiers were injured in Basra.
Abu Ayub al-Masri, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, was reported injured during clashes somewhere near Balad; his aide was killed.
The Iraqi government announced the launch of much-awaited security crackdown in Baghdad. In concert with the increased Iraqi operations, U.S. troops have set up more checkpoints and patrols and have conducted several raids. The Iraqi army reported killing two militants and arresting 33 others in various parts of the country. British forces also ramped up their security operations. During a rocket attack in Basra, two Britons were wounded; in a separate incident, British troops killed a gunman and injured a second militant.
In Baghdad, three people were killed and 25 wounded during a bomb attack on a minibus in the Sadr City district. In the Doura district, two separate car bombs killed five people and wounded 20 others. In Amil, a police commando was killed when his patrol came under fire. An Iraqi soldier was gunned down in the Adhamiya neighborhood. A car bomb near the al-Shurta tunnel wounded an Iraqi soldier; two civilians were injured in the attack. Mortars near the Green Zone injured two people, including an American contractor. An embassy employee was killed just outside the Green Zone on Wednesday. Also, 20 bodies were found scattered around Baghdad.
Forty-eight bodies were discovered on the outskirts of Mosul. Gunmen killed a policeman, and another policeman was killed by a roadside bomb in the city.
In Hawija, three car bombs killed three people. The explosions were followed by an attack where dozens of gunmen stormed the town. Nine gunmen were killed in those clashes. Eight security personnel were also injured.
A car bomb killed 11 in Ramadi.
A roadside bomb near Kirkuk killed two people and wounded a third.
Tribal chief Sheikh Abdul-Razzaq al-Farhood was shot dead near Kut.
In Diyala province, six people were killed in separate attacks.
On a road to Balad from Baghdad, gunmen attacked a minibus; one woman was killed and three others wounded.
Gunmen attacked the village of al-Gasreen with mortars and automatic weapons; eight villagers were killed and 14 more were injured. Several of the injured were taken to Baghdad because the nearest hospital at Baquba is under militant control.
One policeman was killed and another wounded during a small arms attack on their vehicle in Khalis.
The Iraqi army killed a man who was planting a bomb in Muqdadiyah.
A policeman was gunned down in Balad Ruz.
The Iraqi foreign minister’s motorcade was attacked near Kirkuk; Hoshyar Zebari was not in the motorcade but three guards were killed and three others wounded.
In Kirkuk, a civilian was killed and another injured when bombs went off in a residential neighborhood.
Compiled by Margaret Griffis
