Tuesday: 1 Pole, 143 Iraqis Killed; 1 Pole, 109 Iraqis Wounded; At Least 50 Iraqis Kidnapped

Updated at 10:55 p.m. EST, Nov. 14, 2006

The violence continues unabated in Iraq. At least 143 Iraqis were killed or found dead and another 109 were wounded; however, the main story from the war-torn country today is the mass kidnapping of staff members at the Higher Education ministry. At least 50 were held temporarily in the incident. Also a polish soldier was reportedly killed and another wounded in Noamaniya.

At Higher Education Ministry in central Baghdad, at least 50 staff members were kidnapped by gunmen wearing police commando uniforms and driving brand new vehicles. Earlier reports had put the number at 150 kidnap victims. Sunni employees were deliberately picked out from the crowd to be taken away, and witnesses said that local police did nothing during the incident. Several police officers, including the district chief, were arrested shortly after the kidnapping. Later in the day 20 victims were released. Three doctors were also kidnapped in Basra. Late in the day, another 30 people were reported kidnapped off a bus in the Tarmiyah area of Baghdad.

Several explosions occurred in the capital as well. A bomb planted in an eastern Baghdad bus station killed two and wounded ten others. In central Baghdad, a car bomb killed 21 and wounded 25 in the Shourjah marketplace. Another car bomb wounded three people in the Hurriyah district. In the Sadr City district, a car bomb killed 7 and injured 23. One man was killed when a car bomb exploded in western Baghdad. And in the northern al-Zuhur suburb, mortars killed four people and wounded six. Also, gunmen killed a security guard working for former PM Allawi, while the guard was heading home through the Ghazaliya district. At least 17 bodies were discovered in Baghdad, some blindfolded and bound.

Clashes in Ramadi left 32 Iraqis dead and 17 wounded. Shelling from U.S. tanks reportedly killed them.

In Baquba, police responding to a tip and supported by the U.S. forces discovered the bodies of fifteen kidnap victims inside a house where there had been a gunfight earlier. The bodies were bound, blindfolded and shot. Gunmen also attacked a police station, killing three policemen and wounding another. At least one more police officer was killed and another wounded in a separate incident.

The U.S. military reported today that three militiamen were killed during an airstrike in Yusifiya yesterday.

A car bomb wounded ten people in downtown Tikrit.

Gunmen killed one man in Kirkuk.

Eleven gunshot bodies were discovered in Mosul. Late Monday night, three were killed as they were trying to plant a roadside bomb.

Seven were killed and two wounded near Mandali when gunmen stopped their minibus.

In Kut, gunmen killed two Iraqi army soldiers. Also, the bodies of three policemen were delivered to the morgue.

Also, the Iraqi Army reported killing three militiamen in unspecified parts of Iraq.

Mortars fell in Drai'eyah, southeast of the capital, killing three and wounding six.

In Khalis, gunmen killed a driver from the yoghurt factory.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis