Updated at 11:25 p.m. EST, Nov. 6, 2008
At least 13 Iraqis were killed and another 34 were wounded in the latest attacks. Baghdad saw another round of bombings, even as the U.S. and two other countries plan to reduce their troops or remove them completely.
In military news, one U.S. brigade will return to home early as part of the U.S. drawdown. Also, Bulgaria’s 155 servicemembers will leave Iraq by year’s end when their mandate expires. Meanwhile, most of Romania’s troops will leave, but some may remain to work as counselors.
The U.S. officially responded to the Iraqi version of a security agreement that will allow U.S. soldiers to remain in Iraq after December. Although details were not released, the U.S. agreed to some changes while rejecting others. One of the issues stalling the deal is jurisdiction over soldiers who commit crimes; however, a U.S. raid in Syria about 10 days ago added a new dimension by focusing negotiators on possible attacks on neighboring countries. An Iraqi official said that the mood remains “positive” between the two countries.
In Baghdad, four people were killed and seven others were wounded in a double bombing at a checkpoint in the Sheikh Omar neighborhood. One person was killed and five others were wounded when a bomb blasted their vehicle in Bab al-Sharji. Two more bombs injured another eight people; five of them at a Shabb marketplace. One more bomb, targeting a U.S. vehicle, left no casualties.
In Nahrawan, a bomb blast killed two and wounded two more members of an Awakening Council (Sahwa) shortly before noon.
Nine people were injured during a bomb blast in Sadr City.
In Mosul, the gunshot-riddled body of a 20-year-old woman was discovered. Two Iraqi soldiers were injured in a roadside bomb blast. Also, three suspects were captured and five I.E.D.s were defused. Four other suspects were detained separately.
A body was found in Sayada.
Gunmen injured a female university student in Kut.
The bullet-riddled body of a man was found in Kirkuk.
U.S. forces killed two suspects northwest of Mosul after their helicopter came under fire and killed one in Hawija during an operation against al-Qaeda.
Military officials in Diyala have issued arrest warrants against more than 4,000 suspects during a renewed operation in the restive province. Local officials and security forces have criticized the operation as targeting them. Earlier arrests resulted mostly in the release of hundreds of innocent people as real criminals had already fled the province in expectation of the well-publicized operation.
U.S. forces in Anbar province freed 25 innocent detainees. Many innocent detainees are being held indefinitely without tial and sometimes without charges in Iraq. Some of these detainees are women and teenagers.
Three suspects were detained in Basra.
A bomb was defused at the Muthanna health department.
In Diwaniya, 600 displaced families returned home during the last month.
Nine suspects were arrested in Muqdadiyah.
Also, the Syndicate of Journalists reported that 292 journalists have lost their lives since the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Compiled by Margaret Griffis
