Updated at 4:19 p.m. EDT, Aug. 14, 2009
Friday was relatively peaceful for the first time in weeks. The recent surge in attacks has alarmingly included the prayer day as a main target. Last Friday, there were over 400 casualties reported. Only two Iraqis were killed and seven more wounded today. Instead, the break has given greater emphasis to a protest organized by the country’s journalists.
Iraqi journalists staged a demonstration to protest political pressure they say is meant to silence them. Although they have never enjoyed the same rights journalists in other countries have, some accuse the Iraqi government of deliberate harassment. Many have been arrested, by both Iraqi and U.S. authorities, for simply trying to document attacks and protests. Only yesterday an Iraqi soldier was accused of firing upon two journalists in Baghdad.
Four people were wounded during a bombing Buhriz.
In Mosul, gunmen killed a merchant just as he left a mosque today; he recently received death threats. Mortars struck the Um Al-Rabiain police station and wounded three policemen.
A blast near Fallujah in the town of Falaht killed one person.
Thirty-three detainees were freed in Ramadi. Due to a lack
A woman in Khalis was arrested on suspicion of involvement with al-Qaeda.
Nine suspects were arrested in Anbar.
Explosive materials were recovered in Baquba. The explosives were stuffed inside a refrigerator and a satellite dish. An imam was arrested for inciting suicide attacks and working with al-Qaeda.
In Tal Afar, an imam was detained after calling on his followers to support gunmen. The imam was recently released from Bucca prison.
Seventeen suspects were detained in Basra on "criminal" charges. Two missile launching pads were also seized.
