Updated at 12:25 a.m. EDT, May 20, 2007
Minutes before British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in Baghdad’s Green Zone for a surprise visit, mortars fell on the heavily fortified compound. However, 95 Iraqis were killed or found dead elsewhere, and another 65 were wounded. Also, six U.S. servicemember deaths were reported.
The U.S. military announced that one soldier was killed and three were wounded during a roadside bombing south of Baghdad; two Iraqis were also wounded in today’s incident. Yesterday, a dismounted soldier was killed during a small arms attack south of the capital. An MNF-W soldier was killed in combat in Anbar province as well. North of the capital, two MNF-B soldiers were killed and two more were wounded during a combined roadside bomb and small arms attack. Also, one soldier was killed in Baghdad on Thursday, when his forward operating base received indirect fire.
Senior Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi was greeted with mortar fire when he arrived to observe security conditions in Buhriz. His guards exchanged gunfire with the assailants for about 15 minutes before repelling them. No casualties were reported in Chalabi’s retinue.
In Baghdad, one Iraqi was wounded when mortars exploded in the Green Zone. A car bomb targeting a checkpoint killed one person and wounded four in Yarmouk district. Another car bomb killed 11 civilians and wounded 20 in al-Shurta al-Rabi’aa. Iraqi forces killed four gunmen and arrested 152 suspects; three Iraqi soldiers were killed and 12 were also wounded. A Katyusha rocket fell near a deputy minister’s home, killing one of his guards. An exploding mortar caused no injuries in Za’afaraniyah. Gunmen killed a foreign ministry employee in the Baghdad al-Jadida neighborhood and a policeman in Jisr Diyala. During clashes between gunmen and Iraqi forces in Saidiya, one civilian was killed and another wounded. At a Mansour district checkpoint, a suicide car bomber killed two Iraqi soldiers and wounded six more. Also, 20 unidentified bodies were found.
Fifteen dumped bodies were found in Basra; seven belonged to janitors working for British forces. Also, a police officer was killed an another wounded during an attack on a joint coordination center.
Near the Iranian border, 16 members of one tribe were killed in Qara Lus, just outside Mandali. The assailants were dressed as Iraqi soldiers.
In Kirkuk, a police officer was killed during a drive-by shooting. Another policeman was killed on his doorstep; two bystanders were also injured. Two civilians were injured during a bombing.
Two bodies were found in Hilla.
One civilian was killed in Mussayab during clashes between militants and foreign fighters.
In Fallujah, three bodies belonging to members of the Anbar Salvation Council were found.
A bomb, thought to be from a previous war, killed three children and wounded an old woman in Nasariya.
In Khalis, four people were killed and two wounded when gunmen opened fire on a car.
Three Iraqi soldiers were killed and 10 people, mostly civilians were injured during clashing in Diwaniya.
Compiled by Margaret Griffis
