Updated at 8:54 p.m. EDT, May 25, 2010
Gunmen at a Baghdad gold market staged a bold robbery that left over a dozen merchants and bystanders dead. At least 19 Iraqis were killed and 20 more were wounded in that attack and other violence across Baghdad and northern Iraq. Meanwhile, Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin III has been tapped to lead U.S. forces in Iraq.
In Baghdad, 15 people were killed during a robbery at a gold market in the Bayaa neighborhood. At least three bystanders were wounded. Another four policemen were wounded during a shootout where one gunman was killed. Two more were arrested. Officials have long suspected that al-Qaeda could be staging bold robberies in order to fund their activities and blamed it for today’s attack.
A bomb in eastern Baghdad wounded five people. Three people were wounded during a blast in a central district. A blast in Saidiya wounded four more.
Gunmen in Kirkuk killed a guard.
In Mosul, gunmen wounded a civilian at a checkpoint. Two security guards were killed during a small arms attack at a train station.
In Abu Ghraib, a joint U.S.-Iraqi force arrested 30 policemen who were once members of the local Awakening Council (Sahwa). In recent months, though, either the Iraqi army or gunmen wearing military uniforms have slaughtered Sahwa members in Sunni areas near Baghdad.
A senior al-Qaeda leader was captured in Fallujah.
An oxygen-cylinder bomb was defused in Rutba.
Fourteen suspects were arrested in Basra province.
