Update at 4:50 p.m. EDT, April 28, 2010
At least seven Iraqis were killed and 31 more were wounded in several Baghdad attacks, and a roadside bomb blast killed a U.S. soldier in Diyala province. Meanwhile, several Christian groups have asked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to encourage Iraqi authorities to protect Christians in Iraq. Also, Human Rights Watch released a report on a secret prison where Sunni detainees were tortured, raped and illegally detained.
Iraqiya head and former prime minister, Ayad Allawi, called for an internationally monitored, interim government to prevent ballot manipulation that will invariably lead to more violence. His Iraqiya party squeaked out a fragile lead in last’s month parliamentary elections despite obvious attempts to undermine its popularity through the Accountability and Justice (De-Ba’athification) Commission. Most court decisions concerning the elections have favored current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and Iraqiya is considering quitting the political process of demanding a new election.
In Baghdad, a pair of bombs were detonated on a street in Abu Dsheer, killing seven people and wounding 21 others. The sunset attack targeted a market and a checkpoint in the heavily Shi’ite neighborhood. Three people were wounded during a noon-hour blast in Amiriya. A second blast around noon wounded three people in Doura. Four more Iraqis were wounded during a blast near the electricity ministry on Ramadan Street.
In Mosul, roads that were shut down for a military operation were re-opened. Five suspects were captured. An unmanned U.S. drone was discovered in a weapons stockpile.
An explosives and ammunition cache was found in Anbar.
Eighteen suspects were rounded-up in Basra province.
Clashes involving Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels left one Turkish soldier dead and three wounded in Turkey.
Three members of the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) were killed during clashes in neighboring Iran.
