Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki repeated his desire to prevent weapons smuggling across the border into Syria. At least five Iraqis were killed and four more were wounded in new violence.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki re-iterated his plans to strengthen security against weapons smuggling along the porous border with Syria. The concern is that insurgents, who have been relocating to Syria to fight the Assad regime, are also transporting arms there. Maliki has supported Syrian President Bashar Assad, morally and financially, throughout the yearlong revolt in the neighboring country. He fears a civil or sectarian war that could end with the fall of Assad and leave a Sunni majority government in Syria. That in turn could embolden Sunni militants and civilians in Sunni areas that abut the common border.
One policeman was killed and two civilians were wounded when a bomb exploded in Falluja.
A blast in Baiji left one policeman dead and another two wounded.
In Mosul, a high-ranking officer and a soldier were killed in an I.E.D. blast.
A blast killed a civilian in Kirkuk
A bomb was defused near a Sistani representative’s home in Nasariya.
A bomb targeting a Sistani representative in Basra exploded, but no casualties were reported.
No casualties were reported after a bombing in Imam Weis.
