Another Weapons Cache Blows up; 17 Killed in Iraq

At least 17 people were killed and 19 were wounded in recent violence or explosions:

One person was killed and 19 were wounded when improperly stored explosives belonging to the Hashd al-Shaabi militia blew up in Karbala. Several weapons caches have blown up this year across Iraq, even as recently as yesterday. Officials blame improper storage and high heat. 

In Mosul, nine people were killed when they returned from a displacement camp to their booby-trapped home. Also, two militants were killed in a separate incident.

Unidentified gunmen killed three people in Zor Hawi al-Busat and kidnapped a fourth person. All were members of one family.

In Hibhib, a young man was killed.

An airstrike on Metabijh left a militant leader dead.

Other news: Protesters continued to gather outside the West Qurna oil fields, near Basra.

The manual recount of election ballots from the May 12 parliamentary election has concluded. A number of ballots in Baghdad were not checked, because they burned up in a warehouse fire two months ago, but the United Nations has declared the tallying “credible.”

Author: Margaret Griffis

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