Friday: 60 Iraqis Killed, 62 Wounded; Sadr Aide Assassinated

Updated at 9:00 p.m. EDT, April 11, 2008

In Najaf, unknown gunmen assassinated a senior aide to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. This may further unravel a now-tenuous ceasefire imposed by al-Sadr on his followers. At least 60 people were killed and another 62 were wounded in violence across the country. No Coalition troops were reported killed.

A senior aide to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was gunned down after Friday prayers. Riyadh al-Nouri was on his way home to Najaf from neighboring Kufa. He was the director of al-Sadr's office. A curfew has been imposed on Najaf and security forces have taken to the streets to prevent violence.

In Baghdad, three dumped bodies were found. U.S. forces killed six suspects in Sadr City when they shot a Hellfire missile at a group of men carrying rocket launchers. A missile hit the Palestine Hotel, killing three civilians and wounded seven more. Two people were killed and five more were injured when mortars fell on a bakery in Talbiyah. A roadside bomb targeting an armored vehicle killed an Iraqi. A roadside bomb in Shabb killed a policeman and wounded three people. In Baladiyat, a roadside bomb targeted a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol and killed three people; clashes broke out afterwards. A Katyusha rocket struck the Green Zone without leaving casualties. Also, heavy clashes erupted in Sadr City late Friday, but the number of casualties was not reported.

In Mosul, 11 people were injured during a mortar attack on a security outpost. Three dumped bodies were found. A man was shot dead while he was inside his automobile. Also, a man was shot dead and his companion wounded during an incident west of the city.

A suicide car bomb near Ramadi killed three policemen and wounded five others.

An off-duty policeman was gunned down in his car near Baiji. Three of his children were wounded. At an Awakening Council (Sahwa) checkpoint, a suicide car bomber killed one Sahwa member and injured ten others.

Coalition forces killed six suspects and wounded another during an airstrike targeting a "mortar team" near Basra in Hyanniyah.

Two Iraqi servicemen were injured during a roadside bombing in Abu Khamis.

In al-Muradiyah, a roadside bomb struck a civilian car. A child was killed. His parents and four siblings were injured.

The body of a policeman was found in Orouba.

Near Balad Ruz in Karboul, clashes left two Sahwa, two gunmen and two civilans dead.

Clashes broke out in al-Baaj. Four gunmen were killed and five more were wounded. Three Iraqi soldiers were also injured.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis