Updated at 12:45 a.m. EDT, April 10, 2008
Demonstrations and car bans marked the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, while a war of words continued between Turkish officials and Iraqi Kurds. Baghdad and Najaf were under a 24-hour driving ban. Overall, at least 33 Iraqis were killed or found dead today and another 61 wounded. Meanwhile, the Department of Defense released the names of five previously unknown servicemember deaths and a sixth death was reported elsewhere.
The military reported that three sailors died near Kirkuk while conducting combat operations on Friday. Two more servicemembers died in a roadside bomb attack the same day; a third soldier was already known to have died in the event. A roadside bomb killed a Naval officer on Saturday.
In Najaf, tens of thousands of demonstrators protested the U.S. occupation on the fourth anniversary of Baghdad’s fall. They gathered at the request of Shi’ite militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr. Gunmen attacked a group of Shi’ite protesters who were traveling to Najaf from Iskandariya; two were killed and seven injured.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Prime Minister issued vague threats at Iraqi Kurds after a Kurdish leader said that any Turkish interference in Kurdish Iraq would be met with trouble in Kurdish Turkey.
In Baghdad, just seven bodies were recovered off the streets; a 24-hour driving curfew likely had something to do with the small number of dumped corpses. A sniper killed a civilian and a policeman in southern Baghdad. A mortar round in a southern neighborhood killed one person and wounded two more.
Clashes in Buhriz between gunmen and al-Qaeda linked fighters left 30 wounded.
Three people were killed and four injured when a car bomb blew up in Muqdadiyah.
An explosive device killed three Iraqi soldiers in Basra.
In Khalis, gunmen killed tribal leader Jalal al-Daini.
The body of a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party was found near Kirkuk.
A bound body, bearing gunshot wounds and torture marks, was found in Mahaweel.
Two al-Qaeda linked militants were killed in Hit.
In Diwaniya, a roadside bomb targeting a U.S. patrol wounded four civilians instead.
No casualties were reported in the explosive demolition of an Iraqi army officer’s home in Haditha.
Hilla was placed under curfew after explosive devices were set off near two U.S. patrols. Police found a bullet-riddled body. Also, gunmen kidnapped a doctor on his way to work at a hospital.
Five policemen were injured during an armed attack in Baquba. U.S. troops shot an an ambulance, they believed had just fired upon them; no one was hurt. Police found the body of Sheik Ahmed Ibrahim.
In Muthanna, a judge from Samawa was shot dead. Three policemen were injured in a hand grenade attack.
At least three people were killed and six wounded when mortars fell on two villages in Diyala province.
Gunmen killed a man in Mussayab.
Iraqi soldiers set fire to two cars in Fallujah, believing them to contain explosives.
Three bodies were recovered from the Tigris River at Suwayra.
Compiled by Margaret Griffis
