Iraq Army Recruits Targeted; 54 Killed, 67 Wounded

At least 54 people were killed and 67 more were wounded today. Although attacks were scattered across the northern half of Iraq, as usual, three attacks targeted army troops and recruits in the Kirkuk suburbs of Riyadh, Nissan and Rashad.

It is the second day of the election season and someone set fire to a car carrying campaign posters. Voting takes place on April 30, and related violence is expected to increase before then.

Anbar:

In Falluja, shelling killed two people and wounded five others, including children.

A sniper killed a policeman in Ramadi. Three militants were killed in a clash.

A bomb killed a policeman and wounded three more in Hit.

One militant was killed near the Syrian border.

Gunmen killed two Sahwa members on a road in the eastern part of the province.

Elsewhere:

A suicide bomber targeting army recruit outside a base in Riyadh killed eight of them and wounded 23 more.

A roadside bomb killed five soldiers and wounded three more in Nissan.

In Rashad, a bomb killed a soldier and wounded eight more.

A bomb killed two people and wounded six more in Madaen.

Two Sahwa were killed and two more were wounded when a bomb exploded in Abu Ghraib.

In Baghdad, a bomb killed one person and wounded five more in Ghazaliya. A professor was wounded at the University of Baghdad when a bomb blew up his vehicle. A suicide bomber was killed.

In Mosul, a bomb wounded six soldiers. Gunmen killed a policeman and a civilian in separate attacks. Two policemen were gunned down at a checkpoint.

A police officer and four militants were killed during operations in Iskandariya.

In Kut, a policeman was killed and a civilian was wounded in a shooting.

Gunmen killed a civilian in Taji.

A bomb in Baiji wounded two civilians.

Gunmen wounded a police chief in Karbala.

Several guards were wounded when a bomb targeting a Samarra deputy commander exploded.

Unidentified gunmen in Tuz Khormato shot and wounded a militant leader and killed his companion.

Eleven militants were killed in Shora.

Author: Margaret Griffis

Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006.