Updated at 11:50 a.m. EST, Nov.3,, 2006
In Iraq, there is little doubt now that the holiday break from violence was just that. At least 107 Iraqis have so far died on Monday and another 120 were wounded. The U.S. death toll for October alone hit 101 today making this the fourth deadliest month since the war began. An 89th Military Police Brigade servicemember was killed by a sniper in east Baghdad today. The military also reported this morning that a Marine was killed "due to enemy action" in Anbar Province yesterday. Two American soldiers were wounded near Ramadi when their vehicle was blasted by a roadside bomb. In major news, at least 33 were killed in a bombing in Sadr City, and two political assassinations took place. Also, a South African was killed in Basra.
In Baghdad’s Sadr City area, day laborers waiting for jobs at a market square were greeted by a bomb hidden in a trash bin instead; at least 33 were killed and 59 wounded. Some reports place the wounded at around 100. Elsewhere, gunmen killed Essam al-Rawi and his bodyguard near his home in the capital. As well as the head of the University Professor’s Union, al-Rawi was a senior member of a hard-line Sunni group, Association of Muslim Scholars, that has boycotted much of the political process in Iraq and is said to be tied to militia groups. A Shi’ite leader was also murdered. Raad Naem al-Jeheshi was the head of an organization of former Iraqi prisoners; he was gunned down in the Doura neighborhood.
Car bombing resumed at a brisk pace in Baghdad: Three were killed and six wounded when a car bomb went off in the Amil district. In the Hurriya neighborhood, two were wounded when a car bomb exploded there as well. Yet another car bomb near the Yarmouk Hospital killed one civilian and wounded five. Another car bomb exploded in the al-Harthiya area, two were killed and another wounded. In the al-Bayaa district, a car bomb killed seven and wounded 25 others. Also, a detainee at Camp Cropper, just outside of Baghdad, died of injuries sustained during an assault by other prisoners, and at least 15 bodies were recovered in southern Baghdad. They were handcuffed and showed signs of torture.
Suicide bombers twice attacked a checkpoint in Waleed at the Syrian border. The first attempt resulted in no casualties; however, an hour later a second bomber killed six soldiers and wounded one other.
At a police center in Baiji, gunmen killed two policemen and destroyed one car.
Five were wounded in Mosul when mortars struck an electrical power unit. A roadside bomb injured an Iraqi soldier, and four bodies, including that of a policeman, were discovered in different parts of the city.
In Balad, coalition forces disarming a roadside bomb killed two militiamen they noticed nearby.
The bodies of six policemen were fished out of the river in Suwayra. The corpses bore gunshot wounds and signs of torture.
Near Khalis, a roadside bomb blasted a vehicle carrying laborers. Two were killed and three were wounded.
Six blindfolded, bullet-riddled bodies bearing evidence of torture were discovered in Mahmudiya.
In Baquba, gunmen killed four Iraqis, including two policemen, in the Mafraq district. Another four gunshot-riddled bodies were found in the same area.
A private security company lost three members in a roadside bomb blast in Basra. After the explosion gunmen attacked the convoy they were traveling in and an Iraqi girl died in that battle. An Iraqi coast guard member was killed, another was wounded, in a firefight with offshore smugglers.
In Kirkuk, a suicide bomber detonated his belt at a police station. Two officers and a child were killed, 11 others wounded.
Compiled by Margaret Griffis
