Unidentified gunmen killed a top aide to Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr at his home in Najaf. Shawqi Hadad was also a commander of Saraya al-Ashura, one of the Shi’ite militias.
Iraqi forces launched a fresh operation in Diyala and Salah ad Din provinces. The forces included army, police, and militia units. Militia units also deployed to Rabeaa. Meanwhile, Peshmerga forces rejected a request for the troops to expand the operation into Kurdish-controlled areas.
At least 28 people were killed, and 20 were wounded in recent violence, including Shawqi Hadad:
In Baghdad, a double bombing killed one person and wounded 11 more in the Shoala neighborhood.
A bomb killed one soldier and wounded seven more in Tuz Khormato.
Two militiamen were wounded in a blast near Iskandariya.
Turkish fighters killed 11 members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (P.K.K.) during strikes on Qandil, Zap, Avasin-Basyan, and Gara regions in Iraq and also Sirnak in Turkey.
In Orouba, five militants were killed.
Three militants were killed din the Makhoul Mountains.
One militant was killed during operations in Diyala and Salah ad Din.
An airstrike in Kasra left a militant leader and three companions dead.
Another militant leader was killed in Hawija.
