At least six Iraqis were killed and seven more were wounded in light violence. Three U.S. soldiers were wounded on Tuesday when two "improvised rocket assisted munitions" struck a base near Amara. Meanwhile, the U.S. Marines are packing up their belongings to either go home or to Afghanistan. Also, the Iraqi government has announced plans to hold a full census in October.
Iraq will hold its first full census since 1987 in October. The count was delayed thanks to security concerns and fear that it was being politicized. The census has the potential to dramatically change the power structure for several minorities in Iraq. All areas of Iraq, even the Kurdish region, will be included.
Iraqi former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi announced the forming of a new political coalition that will run in March elections. The coaltion is broad-based and secular.
In Baghdad, gunmen killed two policemen in the Saidiya neighborhood. A Trade Ministry employee was shot dead in eastern Baghdad. Three people were wounded during a blast and two policemen were killed in Doura. A suspect accused over overseeing the bombing of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad was captured last June, but authorities waited until now to release the news of the arrest.
Two Iraqi soldiers were wounded during a blast in Saidiya.
In Mosul, a hand grenade wounded two people, including a soldier, at a checkpoint.
A bomb planted on a car in Zap killed the driver.
A sticky bomb was discovered on a bus that transports Christian students in Hamdaniya. It was defused before it could harm anyone.
Two rockets were found inside a plastic bag near a bridge in Kirkuk. No casualties were reported after a hand grenade was lobbed at an US patrol.
Two suicide bombers were stopped in Kabeesa and arrested.
A Naqshabandiya Army suspect was arrested near Hawija.
A U.S.-Iraqi joint force arrested a policeman in Duluiya.
Eleven Ansar al-Sunna suspects were detained in Hit.
In Diwaniya, demonstrators demanded the closure of Sunni politician Saleh al-Mutlaq’s offices and the expulsion of Ba’athists.
