Shi’ite militia leader Aws al-Khafaji has threatened to publicly execute several prisoners held in Dhi Qar province if the Iraqi government does not employ the death penalty against them soon. Khafaji heads the Abulfadhil al-Abbas militia.
Following the July 3 Karrada bombing, Shi’ite militias have been notably active in the Baghdad neighborhood, attempting to gain political power and further threatening the district’s multi-cultural character. However, most of the Shi’ites in Karrada follow Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who is a moderate cleric and critical of the militias.
Security forces discovered an underground prison at the air base in Qayara.
At least 145 people were killed, and 91 were wounded:
In Baghdad, a suicide bomber targeted a checkpoint in Rashidiya left eight dead and 23 wounded. A bomb killed one and wounded seven in Nahrawan. Three people were killed and nine were wounded in another attack. A doctor was killed in a sticky bomb attack.
A suicide bomber attacked the Baquba home of a chief of the Juraniya tribe. He killed the sheikh and a guest.
Two Peshmerga were killed and another was wounded during a rocket attack on Daquq.
A rocket attack on Ijhala left one cameraman dead and a reporter wounded.
In Muqdadiya, a bomb killed a policeman and wounded another. A civilian was shot dead.
Airstrikes left 55 militants dead in Sheikh Ali village.
Security forces in Sharqat killed 24 militants and wounded 19 more.
Fifteen militants were killed and 30 were wounded in strikes on Bakara village and near Hawija General Hospital.
In Hawija, a strike killed 17 militants.
Turkish artillery fire killed about a dozen militants in Fadiliya and Shalalat.
