Updated at 11:51 a.m. EST, Dec. 13, 2010
While Ashuraa observances may be dampening reports of violence, two significant attacks made the headlines, including one against Shi’ite pilgrims participating in an Ashuraa procession. At least 22 Iraqis were killed and 91 more were wounded in those attacks and two others.
At least 17 people were killed and as many as 57 others were wounded when a suicide car bomber struck at a police checkpoint near government offices in Ramadi. The dead included several policemen, a television cameraman and a woman. Because many of the victims were waiting in line for welfare checks, there were elderly people and children among the injured as well. A second bomb was defused and some residents suspect the attack was a response to recent arrests in the area. Separately, two bodyguards were wounded in an assassination attempt against a police official.
A suicide bomber in Baquba attacked a group of Shi’ites, killing three and wounding seven pilgrims. When a police official arrived to investigate, a second explosion occurred, wounding him, 17 civilians and six bodyguards.
Three women, relatives of a top Kurdish policeman and an Arab tribal chief, were kidnapped in Kirkuk. It’s is expected that the kidnappers will ask for the release of female prisoners in exchange for the women.
Police shot and wounded a man attempting a suicide attack in Balad. The explosives were defused.
Sixty men suspected of planning Ashuraa attacks in Karbala were detained.
The mayor of Numaniya is being investigated for his role in the death of a U.S. soldier last week. The Interior Ministry raided the mayor’s home and accused him of not being in his office at the time of the shooting.
The Justice Ministry reported that 24,560 prisoners are being held.
Three suspects were arrested in Mosul.
