Updated at 8:20 p.m. EDT, Aug. 6, 2010
A rash of attacks in Baghdad today highlighted a trend towards attacking vulnerable traffic policemen. At least seven Iraqis were killed and 29 more were wounded in those and other attacks In Baghdad. Meanwhile, al-Qaeda is offering to pay Sunnis to return fighting alongside them against the government. Also, the U.N. is reporting that 25 percent of Iraqis live below the poverty line and 30 percent are unemployed.
From his jail cell, former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz proclaimed his innocence and asked U.S. President Barack Obama to not "leave Iraq to the wolves." President Obama separately asked Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to help end the political impasse.
In Baghdad, two civilians were killed and 13 more were wounded by an explosion in Khadimiya’s Adan Square. An I.E.D. near the al-Karkh intersection killed a traffic policeman and wounded five civilians. A blast in Adhamiya wounded three people. A blast wounded six people, including two civilians in Khadraa, while another wounded two people in Mansour. Two more traffic cops were shot to death at their posts.
A woman was shot dead in Kirkuk. Police also found the body of a 22-year-old man.
In Mosul, bombs placed electrical pylons were found and defused.
Two security members were killed and four more were wounded in a vehicle accident near Zubaydiah.
In Turkey, recent clashes left two Turkish soldiers and seven PKK rebels dead. Also, Kurds find they have a conflicted role while serving in the Turkish military.
