The Battle for Baiji Heating Up; 345 Killed, 48 Wounded Across Iraq

Major battles are taking place in Baiji and driving up the number of casualties. At least 345 people were reported killed, mostly in Baiji. Another 48 were wounded. Executions by militants took place in several cities.

The Pentagon has revealed that over 600 service members reported to military doctors being exposed to what they believed were chemical weapons while on duty in Iraq. The military, however, did not adequately treat or track the personnel believed exposed or even recognize how widespread the cases may have been.

In Falluja, mortars killed 18 people and wounded 25 more.

Militants executed 17 people in Kubaisa.

Seven people were executed, including women and a child, in Shiwaish.

Five soldiers were killed and 12 were wounded when a suicide bomber drove into an al-Baghdadi checkpoint.

A bomb in al-Khabour killed six Sahwa members, including a prominent leader, and wounded two bystanders.

In Baghdad, a blast in Ghazaliya left four dead and eight wounded. Two people were killed in a separate bombing. Security forces killed 13 militants and wounded 12 more in operations across Baghdad province.

Gunmen killed two soldiers at an Abu Ghraib checkpoint.

In Mosul, two policemen were executed.

Gunmen in Muqdadiya killed a civilian and wounded a second one.

A shell wounded two volunteers in Jurf al-Sakhar.

In Baiji, security forces killed 143 militants in the Malha district. A bomb wounded six soldiers and a reporter. At least 80 militants were killed in an airstrike. A clash left 16 militants and four volunteers dead, while another four volunteer fighters were wounded.

Airstrikes in Hawija and Aziz Balad left 42 militants dead.

Author: Margaret Griffis

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