Solemn observances at the Imam Kadhim shrine in Baghdad culminated today. Although pilgrims began to return to their homes, they remain vulnerable to attacks. At least 33 Iraqis were killed and 119 more were wounded, mostly in the capital. Due to the nature of these reports an exact count is difficult at best: The confusion of numerous or larger attacks can lead to wildly conflicting numbers and vague locations. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Parliament is to meet next Tuesday, just ahead of a constitutional deadline.
In Baghdad, five pilgrims were killed and 36 more were wounded near the Mashtal Bridge in New Baghdad. In Zaafaraniya, four people were killed and 20 more were wounded in another explosion. On Palestine St., two pilgrims were killed and 20 more were wounded. One pilgrim was killed in a blast in southern Baghdad. A roadside bomb in northern Baghdad killed five pilgrims. In Rustamiya, a bomb blast wounded 14 pilgrims. Eleven pilgrims were wounded in a car bomb in Bayaa. A bomb in Yarmouk killed 11 people and wounded eight more.
Four people were killed and four more were injured in blasts targeting policemen’s homes in Ramadi. When police arrived to investigate another bomb wounded two of them.
A sticky bomb, placed on a civilian car in Kirkuk, killed one person and wounded another.
A roadside bomb in Baquba wounded three people, two of them civilians. Another bomb left no casualties.
A girl was liberated in Zubair and her kidnappers were arrested.
In Basra province, 53 suspects were detained during a crackdown. The daily arrests across Basra can be attributed to two separate factors. On the one hand, police make mass arrests of people in proximity to crime scenes. On the other are the Shi’ite militants who work inside the police department and often use the office to harass rival Shi’ite groups.
