Updated at 1:00 a.m. EDT, April 21, 2007
Fridays are usually quiet in Iraq. It is the day of prayer and curfews are in place to prevent violence. However, 63 Iraqis were killed or found dead today and 58 more were wounded. In Mosul, 130 Iraqi soldiers felt ill after a meal they believe was poisoned. Also, an American soldier was killed and two were injured during a rocket attack on a base in Mahmuhdiyah. Eight American troops were wounded during a suicide attack near Fallujah.
Near Saqlawiyah, which is not far from Fallujah, a suicide bomber detonated his cargo under a highway pass, causing it to collapse. One civilian was killed and eight American soldiers were injured at an adjacent checkpoint.
In Baghdad, four civilians and three Iraqi soldiers were killed while seven civilians were wounded when clashes broke out in the Hay al-Amil suburb; U.S. helicopters machine-gunned a mosque used by followers of Moqtada al-Sadr. Two suspects were also killed during a firefight near the mosque.
Also in Baghdad, 19 corpses were found scattered in several locations. A roadside bomb injured three people in Madaen. A roadside bomb in the Risala neighborhood injured two more people. In Jisr Diyala, mortars killed one person and injured nine others. Another roadside bomb, this one in Za’afaraniyah, injured five people. One suspect was killed and eight detained during U.S.-led raids. In Wazariyah, gunmen killed two policemen and three others. Gunmen killed three people and wounded others in Sadoun. Kurdish militias killed one person and wounded two more. Mortar rounds killed a child and wounded nine others in an unspecified resdential neighborhood. And, a convoy belonging to a son of Shi’ite politician Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim was attacked yesterday; six bodyguards were wounded.
Southeast of Baghdad, a roadside bomb killed one person and wounded three others.
Seven suspects were killed and 23 arrested during raids in Mahmudiya.
In Mosul, 130 Iraqi soldiers felt sick after a poisoned meal; at least 70 were transported to hospitals. Ten suspects were detained in raids. The body of a leader of the Islamic Army militant group was found; al-Qaeda is suspected in the death.
U.S forces shot and killed one civilian and injured his brother in Khalis.
Gunmen killed a policeman and his brother in Basra.
A roadside bomb killed a child in the Dhi Qar province.
Two al-Bagdadiyah journalists who were abducted two days ago were released in Diyala.
Four bombs were detonated in Kirkuk and three others diffused; no casualties were reported.
Combined U.S and Iraqi security forces raided an al-Sadr office in Kut.
Near Fallujah, a car bomb killed eight people and wounded seven others. An Iraqi army patrol was attacked by gunmen using rocket propelled grenades; injuries, if any, were unreported.
Leaflets threatening a chemical attack in Tal Afar have caused a mass exodus. The mayor says the threats are not serious and has imposed a curfew to calm the populace.
Although U.S. authorities claim that they do not want to divide Baghdad into religious enclaves, troops have begun to erect a cement wall around the Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiya in order to cut down on sectarian violence.
Compiled by Margaret Griffis
