At least six Iraqis were killed and 12 more were wounded during light
violence across the country. An American
soldier was wounded in a small arms attack in Baghdad as well. Also, eight
mortar rounds struck a U.S. base in Balad; no
casualties were as yet reported.
A Sunni minister of parliament alleged
that Kurdish militias are staging attacks against Christians in Mosul.
The reason is that they want to engineer a better political climate for Kurds
in the culturally diverse city. The central government has pledged
to investigate the surge in violence.
Meanwhile, one
civilian was killed and another was wounded in a drive-by shooting. Two
policemen were wounded in a roadside bombing. A concussion grenade damaged
a Christian church, but no casualties
were reported. Separately, a suspect was arrested
and a weapons cache was confiscated. Thirty-five suspects were detained
during security operations. A Kuwaiti suspect was arrested
as well.
In Baghdad, a roadside bomb wounded
three people in Talbiyah. In Camp Sara, three
policemen were wounded when an adhesive bomb lured them to a second explosion;
two civilians were wounded
as well. One body
was found in Jamiya.
Two
dumped bodies were found in Kut.
U.S. forces killed
two suspects and arrested 13 others across northern and central Iraq.
Police captured a number of
suspects and confiscated weaponry in Diwaniya.
Two caches of C4
explosives were discovered
in Fazaiya.
U.S. forces in Fallujah released
50 suspects who were found innocent of all charges.
Police in Amara
found missiles, landmines and
other explosives.
An explosion blasted
a gas pipeline in Kirkuk, but no
casualties nor damages were reported.
In Turkey, Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) staged
an attack that left five Turkish soldiers wounded. Ten days ago bloody clashes
between the PKK and Turkish soldiers triggered a Turkish air strike campaign on
suspected PKK targets in Iraq. The PKK has denied that the attacks are coming
from rebels based across the border; however, the PKK does have a number of rebels
stationed across northern Iraq. Today, Iraqi officials received
a Turkish delegation for talks on the situation.
Compiled by
Margaret Griffis