At least five Iraqis were killed and 14 more were wounded in new attacks. Turkish man was wounded as well. The prime minister continued to seek foreign support for his return to the premiership for a second term in a row, while his rival is mounting an internal campaign.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is in Egypt and will continue on to Turkey, seeking support from neighboring countries for a second term as premier. He also met with Qatari officials. Meanwhile, Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani invited Maliki’s rival for the position, Ayad Allawi, to discuss the political situation. Kurdish lawmakers are crucial to ending the deadlock that is now in its seventh month.
Kurds are threatening to boycott the first national census in decades if a question regarding ethnicity is dropped from the questionnaire. At stake are traditionally Kurdish areas bordering the semi-autonomous region. A large Kurdish population in those oil-rich areas could support a claim to have these annexed to Kurdistan.
In Baghdad, a roadside bomb exploded off Khilani Square, injuring three people. A bomb in Nisour Square wounded four more, and five people were wounded in a blast in Mansour. No casualties were reported after a shell fell in Sheikh Omar or in a blast in al-Jaaiefar.
Gunmen killed a family of five in an attack on the Mosul home of a border guard.
A blast near a passing train in Hamam al-Aliel wounded two conductors.
A Turkish man was wounded near Balad, when a bomb blasted the vehicle he was driving as part of a convoy transporting U.S. supplies.
A child was kidnapped in Amara.
A man suspected of being an armed groups’ financier was captured after a short shootout in Nasariya. Separately, a bomb was defused near a school.
An al-Qaeda suspect turned himself over to security forces in Tal Afar.
