Updated at 8:23 p.m. EDT, Apr. 14, 2008
At least one Iraqi was killed and 10 more were wounded in the latest attacks. No Coalition deaths were reported, but stunning testimony was given in the trial of a U.S. soldier accused of murdering two fellow Americans. Also, the Iraqi government reiterated their promise to fold Awakening Council members into mainstream security forces or otherwise find them employment.
A U.S. soldier accused of murdering two fellow Americans is on trial for the incident which occurred last September. Witnesses described the horrifying incident that took place after the soldier was criticized for poor performance by the two soldiers. Meanwhile, a separate trial for a U.S. soldier accused of murdering four Iraqis continues in Germany.
Following an uptick in attacks, the Iraqi government again promised members of the Sunni Awakening Council (Sahwa) movement that they will not go unrewarded for the service in the councils. The government has been very slow in keeping this promise. The councils are credited with reducing the amount of violence in Iraq; however, the central government is wary of those who had been part of the Sunni insurgency prior to switching loyalties in 2006. Some believe the Sahwa movement is behind recent bombings, but the prime minister blamed them on Ba’athists.
Likewise, the Sahwa members, some of whom had not been paid their salaries for months, saw recent arrests as targeting of the group by the Shi’ite-led government. In fact, Sahwa members today abandoned their posts in Iskandariya because they have still not received their salaries.
One policeman was killed and another was wounded during security operations in Baquba that netted five suspects. At least one other servicemember was wounded during the incident.
Two women and a man were wounded during a shooting in Suleimaniyah. An argument between a policeman and a civilian outside a courthouse got out of hand when the policeman began to fire his weapon randomly. Two men were wounded in separate incidents involving U.S. forces on highways outside of town.
In Baghdad, seven bombs were defused.
Gunmen detonated explosives at four homes in Mualimeen. Three people were wounded.
No casualties were reported after a bombing in Kirkuk.
A man was arrested for filming Karbala security forces with a cell phone camera.
A large munitions cache was discovered in Fallujah. Seventeen suspects were detained.
In Basra, 73 suspects were detained.
Police have imposed a curfew on Jalawla due to a rumor concerning a truck bomb.