A member of the Qatari royal family and his Pakistani companion were released after almost four months in captivity. The pair, along with 26 others, was kidnapped in December while on a hunting trip in southern Iraq.
Due to an inability to take control of Nasr, operations there have ceased until reinforcements arrive. The main target of the operation is nearby Qayara.
A second cabinet candidate has withdrawn his nomination. Ali Allawi listed "political interventions and partisan bickering” as the reasons he will no long seek the job at financial minister.
The U.S. military is considering opening a new firebase in the Mosul area, among others.
Iraqi soldiers are, once again, accused of extra-judicial executions.
At least 194 people were killed and 17 were wounded:
Militants burned 15 people to death for trying to escape Falluja.
In Baghdad, a blast killed one person and wounded six more. One person was killed and seven were wounded in another bombing. Three people were wounded in a bombing in Amin. An explosives belt blew up prematurely, killing the bomber and wounding his companion.
Seventy militants were killed in the Nasr area.
In Mosul, airstrikes killed 50 militants. Militants executed as many as 12 of their own.
Nineteen militants were killed during strikes on Baghdadi.
Operations left 10 militants dead, including an official, in Falluja.
An airstrike on Qaim killed 15 militants.
