Updated at 7:36 p.m. EDT, Oct. 19, 2009
In a bid for peace, 34 unarmed Kurds crossed into Turkey and handed themselves over to authorities. Back in Iraq though, at least 10 Iraqis were killed and 35 more were wounded. A U.S. soldier died in a vehicular accident near Mosul as well.
Eight Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels, along with their families and other non-combatants, surrendered to Turkish authorities in a showy call for peace. The PKK has imposed a unilateral truce for the last few months in hopes that lasting peace can be found between Turkey and the rebel group. The group marched from Iraqi camps to the border. Kurds on both sides of the border came out to greet them.
In a bid to join the EU, Turkey has said it would give its Kurdish citizens more rights, but has so far ignored the PKK’s peace demands. Meanwhile, 23 university students were arrested for alleged PKK connections. PM Maliki recently urged Turkey to stop conducting anti-rebel operations into Iraq. The PKK fought a guerilla war against Turkey for over two decades with the goal of creating an independent Kurdistan.
In Baghdad, two people were killed and another nine were wounded in Shabb during a blast near a marketplace. Two people were killed and another 10 were wounded in a bombing at a café in Bayaa. A bomb in Karrada left three wounded.
In Mosul, gunmen assassinated a tribal affairs director; two bystanders were wounded. During clashes a gunman was killed and a soldier was wounded. A recently released gunman carrying explosives was arrested.
Another official escaped a bombing attack. Four army recruits were injured in a mortar attack. A grenade tossed at a US patrol in Wadi Hajar left no casualties.
A suicide bomber killed two people and wounded four others in Garma.
In Kirkuk, a police official survived a sticky bomb attack, but two guards were wounded. Two suspects were captured.
A roadside bomb blast in Shahraban killed one driver.
A Tal Abta district commissioner survived an assassination attempt.
Two suspects, one of them possibly a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, were arrested in Basra. Nineteen other suspects were also detained.
Tal Afar tightened security at places of worship.
