The Supreme Judicial Council said the trial against Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi will begin as planned on Thursday, but only three of more than 150 cases tied to Hashemi will be addressed.
Last December, as the United States withdrew from Iraq, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki charged the top Sunni politician with ties to terrorism, including an attack later claimed by al-Qaeda in Iraq. Hashemi denied all charges, saying that political motivation was behind the accusations.He fled to Kurdistan to avoid capture and is now in Turkey. Although Hashemi has said he would like to take part in a trial, he feels the judiciary in Baghdad is tainted by Maliki and could not provide a fair one. Interpol has been asked to arrest Hashemi.
At least eight Iraqis were killed and 30 more were wounded.
In Baghdad‘s Kamaliya district a woman and her three children were found stabbed to death; she was the wife of a health ministry employee. A blast killed two people and wounded five others in Karrada.
Seventeen people were wounded in a bombing in Mosul.
The body of a woman in her 60s was found dumped in an Iskandariya farming area.
A sticky bomb killed an army officer and wounded two soldiers in Latifiya.
In Tuz Khormato, a blast wounded three policemen. A sheikh was also wounded when his car was set on fire.
Gunmen wounded a civilian near a Baquba cemetery.
A bomb exploded in front of a Tikrit policeman’s home, wounding him before the bomb squad arrived.
A kidnapped girl was liberated in Mahaweel. The kidnappers, who were arrested, are related to council member.
A bomb targeting a Muthanna province councilman exploded in Samawa but no injuries were reported.
