At least 56 people were killed today, mostly militants in Anbar and other provinces. Another 18 people were wounded. However, gruesome images and video, allegedly taken by soldiers in Anbar province, suggest that the death tolls could be much higher than is being reported. Soldiers are also reporting high rates of desertion among troops.
Anbar:
In Ramadi, twenty soldiers entered a booby-trapped home, where at least 14 of them died after explosives were detonated. A sticky bomb killed a police major. Shelling wounded 10 civilians.
Two suicide bombers were shot to death at a Falluja checkpoint. Eight gunmen were killed.
Shelling killed ten militants in Subhayat.
Elsewhere:
In Mosul, two dumped bodies were found. A car bomb killed a Peshmerga fighter. A bomb wounded two policemen. In separate attacks, gunmen killed two bodyguards who for judges. A civilian and a policeman were also killed in two separate, small arms attacks.
Gunmen killed a village mayor and his son near Hawija.
A bomb targeting the Ishaqi police chief while he was on his way to a funeral wounded two bodyguards instead.
Clashes in Jurf al-Sakhar continued today where five gunmen were killed and one policeman was wounded.
In Buhriz, security forces killed six militants. Gunmen killed a policeman.
Bombs in Mussayab wounded eight soldiers.
