The deaths of five U.S. troops eclipsed the deaths of at least 26 Iraqis. Another 47 more were wounded in the latest violence. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki back-pedaled from his threats to fire ministers if they were unable to implement significant changes by tomorrow’s 100-day deadline.
Five U.S. soldiers were killed during a rocket attack on Camp Liberty in the Baladiyat district of Baghdad. The toll could have been higher, except one rocket detonated prematurely, killing two suspects.
Elsewhere in Baghdad, four people were killed and four more were wounded during attacks on Sahwa checkpoints in Adhamiya. A car bomb on Palestine Street killed one and wounded 10, while eight people were injured in a small arms attack in Adhamiya. Four civilians were wounded in a bombing attack against a contractor convoy traveling through central Baghdad.
A suicide car bomber killed 12 people and wounded 20 others during an attack at the gates of a former Saddam palace in Tikrit. This is the second significant attack in the city over the last week. Because of the earlier attack, soldiers were in the process of intensifying security at the building when the bomber struck. Three other people were reported killed in a separate event. The head of security for Salah ad-Din province resigned over the security failures and because the central government has not shared its findings in previous investigations.
In Anbar province, the Iraqi army began transferring security operations and equipment to the local police. Gunmen planted bombs around the Hamdhiyah home of the police chief, killing four of his relatives and wounded a fifth. Another source reports that a local politician was among the dead.
Four suspects were arrested and a weapons cache was confiscated in Fallujah.
A bomb was defused in Mosul.