Updated at 7:30 p.m. EDT, May 3, 2009
At least four Iraqis were killed and 15 more were wounded in northern Iraq, while no Coalition deaths were reported. Security operations are underway in several hotspots, but the likelihood of their success is questionable. Meanwhile, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani warned that Kurds will not give up their bid to control Kirkuk.
In Mosul, a car bomb possibly left at a Sunni Endowment Authority garage killed three people and wounded four others in the south. Another blast wounded three Iraqi soldiers in a western neighborhood. In a central neighborhood, a bomb wounded three more. A security operation, the third of its kind, has been underway since February. The morgue received the bullet-riddle body of a man suspected of being a shooter in yesterday’s deadly attack on a group of U.S. soldiers.
In Baghdad, three people were wounded in the Adhamiya neighborhood when a sticky bomb exploded. A bomb in Baladiyat left no casualties.
A roadside bomb wounded two policemen in Kirkuk.
Rockets fell near a U.S. consulate in Hilla, but no casualties were reported. Police located the launching pad and more rockets during a search.
A dangerous subject was captured in Amara.
Six suspects were arrested on various charges in Arbil. Three are accused of trying to sell a child’s kidney.
A security campaign was launched in Fallujah. Eight suspects were detained.
Ten suspects were detained in Diyala during the second phase of a security operation that was launched last summer. The original operation was advertised well in advance last summer, so most gunmen were able to flee the province ahead of raids. Hundreds of innocent people were arrested or turned themselves in to police. Interestingly, the operation also opened the door to harassment of local Kurdish officials and security forces.
Twenty-nine suspects were detained in Basra, where the security situation has deteriorated over the last several years. Last year, a failed crackdown against the Mahdi Army did not rid the city or even security forces of other militiamen. Instead, it nearly triggered a civil war. Fighting spread to Baghdad and left hundreds dead or injured. The clashes ended when an Iran-brokered truce came into effect.
Iran continued its artillery campaign in northern Iraq. No casualties were reported.
An Iraqi man living in Denmark is suspected of helping recruit suicide bombers and arranging their travel to Iraq.
