Operation to Reclaim Baghdad Suburb Begins; 42 Killed in Iraq

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has confirmed that Islamic State militants used chemical weapons against Kurdish servicemembers last summer.

At least 42 were killed and 18 were wounded in recent violence:

Three people were killed and eight were wounded by a blast at a market in Mashada.

In Hawija, militants executed five civilians, one a former army officer, for trying to escape the caliphate.

A clash in the Makhoul Mountains left three police dead and 10 wounded. Fifteen militants were also killed.

A tribal conflict in northern Basra resumed.

About 35,000 displaced families were able to return to their homes in Salah ad Din province.

Sixteen militants were killed in clashes in Garma that may be the beginning of a large-scale operation to recover the city.

Author: Margaret Griffis

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