Updated at 8:50 p.m. EST, Feb. 22, 2008
At least 30 Iraqis were killed and another 39 were wounded during increased violence. Meanwhile, an American soldier died of a non-combat illness, and several GIs were wounded during a bombing in Balad. Hostilities at the Turkish border left at leave five Turkish soldiers and 24 PKK separatists dead as well. Also, new evidence may show that British soldiers were engaged in torturing and murdering Iraqi detainees after a 2004 battle.
Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr extended a unilateral ceasefire he imposed on his Mahdi Army by another six months. The break in hostilities came last August after a deadly clash with rival group the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) in Karbala. Its purpose was to weed out rebellious factions within al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army, and it is credited with significantly lowering casualty numbers.
Turkish troops entered Iraq to perform security operations against Kurdish separatists, who have been using northern Iraq to stage attacks against targets in Turkey. Two Turkish soldiers were killed and eight more were wounded during clashes in the border area of Bazia. Another source said that that at least three more Turkish soldiers were killed, and at least 24 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels also died in clashes. Another 20 rebels were "rendered ineffective". Meanwhile, 2000 Peshmerga fighters headed to Dohuk to counter the Turkish forces there. These Kurdish fighters are aligned with Coalition forces and serve as a security force for the Kurdish Autonomous Region. Aid agencies believe that most civilians have already left the area.
At a Fallujah mosque, a suicide bomber killed at least six policemen and wounded nine more.
In nearby Garma, another suicide bomber attacked a checkpoint, killing two people and wounding three more there.
Three policemen were killed and eight others were wounded during a suicide car bombing at Tikrit police station.
In Baghdad, a bomb in Karrada killed three people and wounded seven others; a horse also died in the incident. In Amil, Iraqi soldiers killed a Mahdi Army leader during a quarrel at a checkpoint.
Two bodies, bearing gunshot and torture marks, were found in Iskandariya.
Mortar fire in Buhriz killed one child and wounded eight more.
U.S. forces killed six suspects and detained six others in Khan Bani Saad. Meanwhile, gunmen killed a family of three, including two teenagers.
Three gunmen and a suspect were arrested in Mosul. A house-bomb left three wounded.
Katyusha rocket attacks forced the closing of the Basra airport, where British troops are based.
Near Tuz Khormatu, a roadside bomb injured a truck driver.
Compiled by Margaret Griffis
