Saturday: 2 Coalition soldiers, 61 Iraqis Killed; 50 Kidnapped

Updated at 11:05 p.m EST, Nov. 11, 2006

As the Veteran’s Day holiday is observed in the United States, the War in Iraq continues without a pause. Two Coalition soldiers were killed and another two injured. A translator for U.S forces was kidnapped, and at least 61 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 51 were injured. At least 50 others were kidnapped, including a mass kidnapping near Latifiyah.

The U.S. military reported that gunmen shot dead two foreign soldiers, one Polish and one Slovakian, shortly after a bomb exploded near their military humvee; another Pole and an Armenian were injured in the incident that happened in Kut. A suicide car bomber attacked a U.S. patrol in the Taji area, north of Baghdad, and a roadside bomb exploded near a second U.S. patrol in the Rustamiyah area; no casualties were reported in either incident.

In other news, the Coalition announced today that they are offering a reward for information leading to the return of the kidnapped American soldier, Ahmed Kousay Altaie. Khalid Ismail, a Christian translator working at an American base near Kut was kidnapped; no others news on him, yet. The U.S. interests office in Hillah was struck by up to 10 rockets. No casualties were reported, but the attack resulted in a fire. Also, Iraqi officials and American observers are reporting that the shortages in healthcare in Iraq are killing thousands more.

In Baghdad, at least 25 bodies were found late Friday through Saturday evening; they bore gunshot and torture wounds. Two car bombs exploded in quick succession, killing eight people and wounding at least 38 others in a Hafidh al-Qadi marketplace; this is a common tactic used to draw in new victims, often first responders, to a second explosion. A roadside bomb killed one motorist and wounded five others in an eastern area of the capital. A car exploded in eastern Baghdad, killing a suspected suicide bomber. And, gunmen in Bayaa killed an intelligence officer.

On a highway near Latifiyah, Sunni gunmen set up a phony checkpoint and used it to ambush a convoy of minibuses. Twelve Shi'ite passengers were killed and at least 52 were kidnapped.

In Kirkuk, a roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded three civilians instead. A separate bomb hit its mark wounding four police officers and a civilian. Also, gunmen killed an Iraqi army soldier in front of his home in east Kirkuk.

Gunmen shot dead a policeman and at least two civilians, including a staffer at the agricultural directorate, in separate incidents in Baquba. Near Baquba, in the town of Zaghinya, a suicide car bomber targeting a police station killed two people, including a woman and the police chief.

Two militiamen were killed in Tal Afar during a search for those responsible for an attack on the Iraqi army on Friday.

Near the Iranian border at Zarbatiya, gunmen shot dead a police officer.

In Diyala, a booby-trapped car killed a police officer.

Two bodies were fished out of the Tigris River at Suwayrah.

In Samarra, a police captain said the morgue had received five headless bodies belonging to soldiers kidnapped in the Meshahda area last week.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis