Updated at 6:22 p.m. EDT, March, 21, 2010
At least nine Iraqis were killed and 20 more were wounded in light violence. Full election results are now expected on Friday, but calls for a recount reached a higher level as President Talabani chimed in today.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has demanded a recount of votes even though final results are not in yet. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki separately asked the election commission to respond to the several calls for recounts and warned of increasing violence. Although independent observers have seen no evidence of widespread tampering, the tight race underscores the need to alleviate any questions of fraud before the task of forming the new government can begin. The election commission, however, stands by it findings. The prime minister’s coalition is in a dead heat with rival group Iraqiya. Also, Iraqiya appears to be ahead in contested Kirkuk, which could undermine Kurd claims to the province. Talabani is Kurdish.
Three people were killed and six more were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded in Yusufiya.
In Mosul, an elderly man was killed during a home invasion in Tanak. Gunmen killed a soldier in the Karama area. A blast in Mushayrafa wounded two soldiers. A hand grenade intended for a U.S. patrol instead wounded two Iraqi civilians. Two policemen were wounded in a blast in Thawra.
In Baghdad, gunmen fired upon a motorcade carrying a labor ministry official, wounding the official and his driver. A blast near the Tho al-Tabiqeen Bridge in Doura killed one policeman and wounded three others.
Gunmen stormed an Awakening Council member’s home in Garma where they killed him and his wife.
A policeman’s body was found in Saqlawiya.
Three soldiers were wounded in an I.E.D. attack in Kirkuk.
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is threatening to resume hostilities should Turkey resume military operations on rebel camps in northern Iraq or continue to pressure political groups in Turkey.
