This past week in Iraq

Photo:

A mother kisses the face of her dead son in the morgue of the local hospital in the northeastern town of Baquba on November 27 2008. The teenager was shot dead this morning by unknown assailants. AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

A WEEK IN IRAQ – this information came from Reuters, Antiwar.com, Getty Images, and Iraq Today blog. This is probably not a complete list of security incidents in Iraq. This report covers the week of November 23^rd to November 29^th. At least 165 people died from violence in Iraq this week. The real number is likely much higher. I put this together for a radio show, Veteran's Voices, which is on WPVM.

Sunday, November 23^rd – At least 11 Iraqis were killed and another 37 injured in Iraq on Sunday. 8 bodies were discovered in a mass grave in Babel province. 9 bodies were discovered in a mass grave in Muwaylaha. This grave was estimated to be one year old. 1 person was killed and 6 wounded by a bombing in the Karrada district of Baghdad. 4 more people were wounded by a second bombing later in the day. 4 more were wounded by a third bombing in Baghdad. 4 more were wounded by a sticky bomb attached to a car in Baghdad. 1 person was killed and 4 more wounded in yet another bombing in Baghdad. 5 more were wounded by a sixth bombing in Baghdad, targeting Agriculture Ministry workers. A journalist was injured during an attack outside his office in Baghdad. A body was found murdered on the streets of Baghdad. A car bomb wounded 7 people in Mosul, including one Iraqi soldier. 2 policemen were wounded when gunmen attacked their checkpoint in Tikrit. A US patrol was turned away from a university in Diwaniya. They were told they could enter in civilian dress if they made an appointment and brought no weapons. Protests continue in Baghdad against the US – Iraqi SOFA.

Monday, November 24th – At least 34 Iraqis were killed and another 31 wounded across Iraq on Monday. A female suicide bomber blew herself up at the entrance to the Green Zone in Baghdad. 7 Iraqis were killed, including one pregnant woman, and 13 more were wounded. Reportedly, this bomb was detonated by remote control. A bomb attached to a bus used by the Trade Ministry to ferry employees to work exploded shortly before 8 AM in eastern Baghdad. 14 ministry employees and 1 child were killed and 7 people were wounded. A roadside bomb near the Technology Institute killed 2 and wounded 4 more in Baghdad. A car bomb was defused in Baghdad. 3 brothers were killed by a small arms attack in Muqdadiyah, east of Baquba. 6 people were wounded by mortars in Madaen, south of Baghdad. 1 lawyer was killed in a drive-by shooting in Kirkuk. Another man, a clan chief, was killed in a separate drive-by shooting in Kirkuk. An Armenian Church suffered damages in a bombing in Kirkuk, but no injuries were reported. A bomb blast in Baquba killed a policeman. 1 policeman was gunned down and killed in Mosul. 1 Iraqi soldier was injured by gunfire in a different section of Mosul. Another policeman was killed by another sniper in Mosul. And 1 more policeman was injured by gunfire in anther neighborhood of Mosul. A farmer was kidnapped in Bishkan by five gunmen. 1 civilian was wounded by a roadside bomb in Dyluiya.

Tuesday, November 25^th – At least 6 Iraqis were killed, 10 more wounded, and 3 US military personnel died in Iraq on Tuesday. Clashes in Duluiya resulted in 2 people killed and four wounded. This incident happened because of a kidnapping yesterday. 2 people were injured by a bomb blast in Baghdad. 6 more people were injured aby two mortar bombs in Salman Pak, which is south of Baghdad. Gunman in Mosul wounded a ten year old child. 2 bodies were fished out of the Tigris River. They had gunshot wounds and signs of torture. US forces killed 2 Iraqis in Rawah. A gunman dressed in an Iraqi army uniform killed 1 US soldier and 1 US Marine in Baaji. 2 more Marines and 3 Iraqis were also wounded in the incident. 1 US soldier died of non-combat causes in Diyala province.

Wednesday, November 26^th – At least 35 Iraqis were killed and 24 were wounded in violence across Iraq on Wednesday. In Diyala province, a mass grave gave up 23 bodies. This mass grave was estimated to be a year and a half old. 2 were killed and 10 wounded by a roadside bomb in Baghdad. 5 policemen were wounded by another bombing in Baghdad. 4 more Iraqis were wounded by a third bombing in Baghdad, and 2 more were wounded by a forth bombing in Baghdad. 2 police men were wounded by a fifth roadside bombing in Baghdad. 1 unidentified body was found in south Baghdad. 6 bodies were discovered in Samarra, and they were recently killed. 4 security personnel were killed and 1 more wounded during a roadside bombing near Tikrit. Gunmen wounded 1 man in Kut. 1 Iraqi was wounded by a roadside bomb in Baquba. 2 roadside bombs were successfully defused in Duluiya. In northern Iraq, 18 potential female suicide bombers handed themselves over to US authorities after family and religious leaders urged them to do so. Russia issued a statement requesting an investigation following a traffic altercation between US and Russian convoys that injured 3 Russian diplomats.

Thursday, November 27^th – At least 8 Iraqis were killed and 43 more were wounded in Iraq on Thursday. 6 people were wounded in Mosul by a suicide bomber. In another attack, 2 people were killed in Mosul and 28 others wounded by a second suicide bomber. 1 Iraqi soldier was killed and three more wounded during a bombing in Baghdad. 1 policeman was killed by another bomb, which was planted in his car, in Baghdad. 1 Iraqi was killed and 6 wounded by an IED in Baghdad. 6 civilians were wounded by another roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad. US forces killed 1 Iraqi in Garma. 1 Iraqi teenager was killed by unknown gunmen in Baquba. The Iraqi parliament passed a contentious US - Iraqi SOFA on Thursday.

Friday, November 28^th – At least 21 Iraqis were killed and 58 more were wounded across the country on Friday, while thousands of Sadr supporters protested the passage of the US-Iraqi SOFA agreement in Baghdad and Basra. A suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest hit a mosque in Mussayab where 12 people were killed and 19 wounded. A suicide car bomber in Baghdad killed 2 people and wounded 14. 1 person was wounded in a blast near a US base in Sadr City in Baghdad. 1 person was wounded by a roadside bomb targeting a US patrol in Baghdad. 2 suspected militants were killed by US forces in Karrada neighborhood in Baghdad. 2 more people died in Mosul from wounds received in Thursday’s bombing, and 12 more wounded were reported. 2 Iraqi soldiers were killed when they raided a booby-trapped home near Baquba, and 3 more were wounded. 4 policemen were wounded in a bombing in Khanaquin, just northeast of the city of Baquba. 3 policemen were wounded by a IED bomb in Duluiya. 1 child was killed in Kut, and 2 family members wounded, when a Katyusha rocket fell on their home. 1 man was killed in a raid by Iraqi Security forces in Basra. F-16s from Turkey waged an air raid at Kurdish Workers Party in northern Iraq. A number of places were shelled, but there were no reports of deaths or injuries. There was a rocket attack at Camp Victory in Baghdad, but no injuries were reported. Japan announced the end of its air force mission in Iraq.

Saturday, November 29^th – At least 44 Iraqis were killed and 32 more wounded across the country on Saturday. In addition, a rocket attack in Baghdad, near the Green Zone killed 3 UN contractors and wounded 15 others, some very seriously. Their nationalities were not released. A series of mass graves gave up 33 bodies in Albu Toma area of Diyala province. A women and a child were among the dead, and the victims were likely killed about a year ago. Al Qaeda is blamed for the murders. Further mass graves are expected to be found in the area. 1 civilian was killed and 3 wounded by a bomb in Karrada neighborhood of Baghdad. Another car bomb in Baghdad killed 3 people and injured 13 more. 4 policemen were wounded by a roadside bomb in Baghdad. 3 civilians were wounded by another bomb stuck to a car in Baghdad. 1 body was dumped on the streets of Baghdad. 2 brothers were killed in an attack on their jewelry shop in Mosul, and the attackers left behind two bombs behind which killed 1 police officer and wounded 11 police officers and 7 civilians. 4 policemen were killed in Saidiya by a bomb. 4 suspected militants were killed by US forces in Tuz Khormato. Two provincial council members from the province of Wassit were released after two years of detention by US forces. They were released without explanation. Bosnia held a farewell ceremony for their soldiers today, and South Korea has one scheduled for next week.