At least 46 Iraqis were killed and 114 were wounded in a series of significant attacks across the country. Most casualties were from two bombings north of Baghdad, but some smaller attacks were striking in their savagery. Meanwhile, the United Nations is investigating claims that Iraqi asylum seekers were mistreated before being deported back to Iraq, where the refugee problem remains discouraging.
Senior Shi’ite cleric Abdul-Mahdi al-Kerbalai, who is a spokesman for Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, expressed his concerns that a new government has yet to be formed. Many believe Al-Sistani could be the kingmaker in this disputed election. The process could take several months even though the new parliament has already met. Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi warned that the destabilizing deadlock is making it impossible to respond to foreign threats and incursions, such as recent ones by Turkish and Iranian troops.
Eighteen people were killed in Tuz Khormato when a car bomb exploded near a provincial council member’s home. At least 50 others were wounded, and a second bomb was defused.
A bomb at the home of a Baquba police captain left three dead and 31 others wounded.
Gunmen in Abu Ghraib killed a family of four as they were sleeping in their garden. The head of the household was an irrigation department employee and may have been targeted over a water dispute. His pregnant wife and two children were also killed. Nearby, rockets that may have been targeting an army base or Baghdad International Airport killed four people and wounded eight more. Another bomb was defused.
Relatives killed a man in Samarra after he refused their demands to quit working as an interpreter for U.S. troops. One son and a nephew were arrested, but police are looking for a second son as well.
A triple bombing in Qaim left four Iraqi soldiers dead and six wounded.
Gunmen ambushed an Iraqi patrol near Qaim, killing seven soldiers and wounding 10 other people in Akashat
In Mosul, a policeman was wounded in a blast. A body was discovered. Gunmen killed an off-duty policeman at his home. A sticky bomb killed a policeman.
In Abu Saida, a bomb killed two policemen and injured three others last night.
Two Iraqi servicemembers were wounded during a pair of bombings in Tal Afar.
In Baghdad, a blast wounded three people in Harithiya.
An Awakening Council leader survived two assassination attempts in Bani Saad.
A bomb explosion damaged a pipeline near Baiji.
Clashes between troops and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels in Turkey left three rebels dead and two more wounded today. Turkey also claimed to have killed about 130 rebels during air strikes in northern Iraq last month. Independent confirmation of casualties is at best difficult in the sparsely populated mountain region. Another 30 rebels and 43 Turkish servicemembers were reportedly killed within Turkish territory. The PKK recently abandoned a unilateral truce they hoped would have created conditions for peace talks that could end their 26-year-long guerilla campaign to create an independent Kurdistan.
