At least seven Iraqis were killed and 16 more were wounded in violence today. Also, a U.S. soldier was killed in southern Iraq. Officials did not give details, but the death may have occurred during a bombing near Najaf.
Four activists who were released on bail yesterday held a press conference today and said they were tortured while in detention. Baghdad Operations Command denied the claim. The group was arrested last month during a demonstration in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square.
With Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki‘s 100-day deadline for change having expired, the premier appeared on television along with several ministers to discuss the outcome. Parliament will also discuss the resolution of this attempt to hasten progress.
In Mosul, gunmen shot dead an off-duty policeman near his home. The body of a Yazidi man was discovered.
A bomb planted on a health official’s car in Baquba exploded and wounded four bystanders instead. A civilian was shot to death.
In Baghdad, an attack against a Defense Ministry official killed his son, while the official and his wife were wounded. Another Defense Ministry employee was killed separately in Nafaq al-Shorta. A bomb targeting police in the Karrada district wounded four people. A bomb in Zaafaraniya wounded four people, including a policeman.
A sticky bomb killed one person and wounded two others in Falluja.
A roadside bomb killed a Sahwa member in Rashad.
The two dominant Kurdish parties met with three opposition parties in the Kurdish Autonomous Region.
A bomb targeting a U.S. patrol exploded in Hilla, but no casualties were reported.
Two suspects were arrested in connection with a rocket attack in Kirkuk.
