Fresh Rumors of US Military Activity; 162 Killed Across Iraq

An anonymous source at Salah ad Din Operations Command said that a number of U.S. helicopters dropped troops near Tikrit. Few details are available. The U.S. military has denied reports of similar activity recently.

The United States has changed how it will release information about civilian casualties in Coalition airstrikes across Iraq and Syria. The plan is to release general information sooner instead of the detailed reports that take months to process. Meanwhile, Iraqi Shi’ite paramilitary leader Hadi al-Amiri dismissed the airstrike campaign as a failure.

As the Coalition effort ramps up, though, Iraqi forces may still fall short of what is needed of them to recover Mosul. Some analysts and former trainers feel that the troops, while showing some significant improvements, still require even more training.

At least 162 were killed and 67 were wounded:

A bomb in Hamamiyat killed two people and wounded eight more.

In Baghdad, a bomb killed a policeman and wounded three others.

Gunmen shot a bus driver in Baquba. The bus then overturned, injuring three passengers.

Security forces in Albu, Shejil, Garma, and Numaniya killed 62 militants.

Security forces killed 42 militants and wounded 38 more during operations in Albu Shejil.

Thirty militants were killed and 15 were wounded by an airstrike near Hawija. Militants executed seven of their colleagues.

An airstrike left 10 militants dead in Riyadh.

In Sufiya, a suicide bomber was killed. Six other militants were killed.

Author: Margaret Griffis

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