Updated at 7:18 p.m. EDT, Sept. 13, 2009
The gruesome execution of a policeman’s family this morning in Kirkuk overshadowed the other numerous attacks in Iraq. Overall, at least 26 Iraqis were killed and 41 more were wounded across the country. Also, a U.S. soldier killed an American contractor at a U.S. base in Tikrit. The soldier is in custody.
In political news, a coalition of Iraq’s neighboring countries will meet to discuss Iraq’s security. In the north, Kurdish villagers are planning to defend themselves against al-Qaeda and Sunni political rivals. Also, the Iraqi parliament discussed adding a 35% income tax on foreign oil and gas companies.
Gunmen entered a home in Kirkuk where they killed four family members execution-style. The four were the children and 27-year-old wife of a Kurdish policeman, who was at work at the time. The youngest child was only two-years-old. The attack occurred in Banjur where many Saddam-displaced Kurds resettled after the U.S-led invasion allowed them to return home to the Kirkuk area.
Elsewhere in Kirkuk, a roadside bomb killed one officer and wounded three policemen. Three more policemen were wounded in a second blast. A third bomb killed one policeman and wounded a civilian.
A bomb blast at a popular market in Muqdadiya left three dead and 20 wounded.
South of Kirkuk, gunmen attacked an Iraqi army patrol. Four soldiers and two gunmen were killed.
In Mosul, the body bearing gunshot wounds was discovered. Gunmen killed a taxi driver. Two people were wounded when a bomb exploded outside a Shifaa area hospital.
Tribal clashes broke out south of Mosul in Muwailah. Five people were killed and one more was wounded. The death of one clan member in security operations over a year ago was apparently the cause of today’s violence.
Outside Baghdad, an explosion in Husseiniya left three wounded.
A politician was killed in Latifiya.
A raid near Kirkuk in Rashad left one al-Qaeda suspect dead and a second wounded.
The body of a 12-year-boy was found in Khalis. A civilian was killed and his car was burned.
In Qayara, a bomb killed a civil servant. Twenty suspects were detained.
A bomb in Tikrit wounded two policemen.
Three Iraqi servicemembers were wounded during a blast in Saidiya.
In Mafraq, a blast wounded a policeman, who was driving a civilian car.
A sticky bomb wounded a policeman in Baquba.
Twenty-eight people were detained after a roadside bomb exploded near a U.S. patrol in Numaniya. No casualties were reported. Curiously, police said they expect to clear 17 suspects of all charges later today.
Ten suspects were arrested in Basra province.
Twenty-one suspects were captured during raids in Hilla and Iskandariya.
In Ramadi, 24 suspects were released after being cleared of wrongdoing.
Eight Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels were killed in southeastern Turkey over the last four days.
