Updated at 7:18 p.m. EDT, Oct. 20, 2009
Several small bomb attacks occurred in Baghdad and other central Iraqi towns. At least 11 Iraqis were killed and 34 were wounded in those scattered bombings and in Mosul. Also, one U.S. soldier was killed and two more were wounded in a roadside bomb blast in Ninewa province. Meanwhile, Prime Minster Nouri al-Maliki is in the United States meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama. President Obama promised to hold the U.S. to a 2011 withdrawal date.
The U.S. military is investigating the events leading up to the deaths of five U.S. troops who were killed by a fellow soldier last May and has issued a report listing some of the findings from this probe. Sgt. John M. Russell stands accused of killing five comrades at a counseling center in Iraq. Fellow soldiers had observed his deteriorating behavior before the shooting.
A day after Kurdish rebels staged a welcomed peace demonstration at the Turkey-Iraq border Turkish air forces violated Iraqi airspace.
In Baghdad, a bomb left on a bus in the Kadhimiya district killed one civilian and wounded four others. In nearby Adhamiya, an explosion wounded four people. Another bomb wounded three civilians in Obeidi. Another two were wounded in a blast in Dulai. Another bomb in eastern Baghdad wounded three people. In Zaafaraniya, police freed a kidnapping victim.
In Mosul, soldiers shot dead a gunman. Two bodies were discovered. Two Iraqi soldiers were wounded in a roadside bomb blast. Gunmen killed a juvenile hall official. Yesterday, two people were wounded another explosion.
A car bomb parked at a Saqlawiya petrol station exploded, killing four people and wounding 12 more. Police and civilians were among the casualties. A vehicle and bicycle ban is in effect.
A policeman was killed and two others were wounded in a roadside blast in Hilla.
A sticky bomb killed a woman just north of Baghdad in Taji.
At least nine people were arrested in separate operations in the Kirkuk area. Two students were kidnapped.
An al-Qaeda suspect was captured in Saidiya.
Police defused a bomb and detained 26 suspects in Basra. Rockets were confiscated.
A suspected al-Qaeda emir was arrested in Suwayra.
Four Iraqis were arrested near Baaj as they were trying to illegally re-enter Iraq from Syria.
