Updated at 9:05 p.m. Aug. 9, 2010
After a bloody pair of days, violence subsided somewhat, but at least seven Iraqis were killed and 34 were wounded in the latest attacks. Ramadan will likely begin for Sunnis tomorrow night and on Wednesday night for Shi’ite Muslims, depending on the sighting of the moon. The holiday has seen a surge in violence in the past and increased attacks are expected this year.
In Baghdad, a roadside bomb killed three people and wounded 10 others at a police station in the Ghazaliya neighborhood. The bombing appears to have been another in a series of attacks against traffic police. Interior Minister Jawad al-Boulani has promised to capture those behind the attacks. In the meantime, arms were issued to some policemen.
Separately, gunmen shot at the home of the central bank’s director, wounding his bodyguard. Three people were wounded in an overnight blast. Police arrested those suspected of a role in an attack on the al-Arabiya office last month. Also, no casualties were reported after a mortar attack on the Green Zone.
A pair of bomb outside an Abu Ghraib medical center killed a guard and a civilian, while seven others were wounded.
A town official was killed and two bodyguards were wounded in an attack in Moltaqa.
Mosul police detained a man accused of a hand grenade attack yesterday. Late in the day, a blast wounded six people. Two policemen were wounded in another explosion.
Gunmen wounded three civilians in Azim.
Police captured 11 suspects and two rockets in villages surrounded Kirkuk. Gunmen killed a currency exchange operator.
A bomb left on a judge’s car in Amara left no casualties.
Security has been tightened in Karbala for the beginning of Ramadan.
A new blast was reported in Saqlawiya.
In Turkey, soldiers happened upon a group of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) suspects laying landmines. Five of the rebels were killed in a subsequent firefight.
