Even though the Iraqi government has been insisting, clearly, that it no longer needs U.S. troops in Iraq, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, warned the country’s leaders that they must soon decide if U.S. troops will remain after the end of the year. Meanwhile, at least six Iraqis were killed and 47 more were wounded in new violence, almost all of it at a protest in Mosul.
Hospital sources reported one dead and 44 wounded after security forces in Mosul fired upon protesters. Police fired into the air to disperse about 2,000 demonstrators who had ignored a curfew. For nearly two weeks, the city has seen daily demonstrations against the U.S. occupation. The curfew has now been lifted.
Police interrupted the arrest of a tribal leader in al-Djern. The chieftain had participated in the Mosul demonstrations.
A bomb targeting police in Ramadi killed three of them and wounded three more.
A burned body was discovered in Kirkuk. A Sahwa member killed a colleague. Also, an 11-year-old boy was kidnapped.
In Baghdad, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Tahrir Square.
An Islamic State of Iraq emir was arrested in Falluja.
A radio station associated with the Islamic Union Party was set on fire in Suleimaniya. A car belonging to the head of the Islamic Union bloc was also torched in a separate attack. A station associated with the Change Party stopped broadcasting because of static issues.
Charges against five Blackwater Worldwide guards were reinstated after an appeals court decided an earlier judge had erred. The five are accused of killing14 Iraqi civilians in 2007.
