Updated at 8:47 p.m. EDT, May 2009
At least 12 Iraqis were killed and 17 more were wounded in the latest attacks. A roadside bomb killed a U.S. soldier in Baghdad. Meanwhile, Gen. George Casey, Army chief of staff, said that thanks to global trends his military plans include keeping U.S. troops in Iraq past the 2012 deadline for withdrawal.
In other news, about 1,000 arrest warrants have been issued for trade ministry personnel suspected of corruption; the trade minister, Falah al Sudany, resigned on Monday. Also, fear is growing that the Sunni Awakening Movement, which is credited with reducing terrorist and sectarian violence in Iraq, will now unravel thanks to the Shi’ite-led government. The unraveling could thwart some Iraqis attempts at bringing justice to their loved ones killed in less stable days. Better news came out of Kurdistan, where producers shipped the first 10,000 barrels of oil to Turkey despite a conflict between the regional and central goverments over oil exportation and pipelines.
In Baghdad, a bomb wounded two people in Hurriya Square, Karrada district. Three deaths were added to yesterday’s casualty count from a mortar attack in Fidhiliya; the number of wounded remains at eight. Four al-Qaeda suspects were detained.
A car bomb killed five people and wounded 10 others in Abu Ghraib.
Four policemen were wounded in Garma al-Fallujah when they encountered a roadside bomb.
In Mosul, a man was killed in a drive-by shooting. A vegetable vendor was also killed. A roadside bomb killed a policeman yesterday in al-Islah al Ziraai neighborhood. A woman was killed in the crossfire between gunmen and Iraqi soldiers. A civilian wounded in a roadside bombing.
Three suspects were captured near Lake Tharthar and their weapons were confiscated.
In Basra, 27 suspects were detained and rockets were confiscated.
Seven suspects were detained in Hawija.
Four suspects in Heit were arrested for planting bombs.
As five Sadrists were acquitted in a Nasariya court a Sadrist movement spokesperson warned of human rights abuses in Iraqi jails.
Three short-range missiles were found south of Nasariya in Souq al-Shiuokh.
U.S. forces handed over three buildings in Taji to their Iraqi counterparts.
Three long-range missiles were discovered east of Amara near the Iranian border.
