Thursday: 57 Iraqis Killed, 10 Wounded

Updated at 7:35 p.m EST, Dec. 7, 2006

At least 57 Iraqis were killed or found dead today and another 10 were wounded in several attacks. U.S. military authorities reported that another U.S. soldier was killed yesterday in Iraq, and a GI died today from wounds received in combat yesterday; they are listed in Wednesday's tally.

Combined American and Iraqi forces killed a regional al Qaeda leader. Also, a suicide car bomber targeted a U.S. patrol in Mosul. Besides the bomber, no casualties were reported, but two Humvees were destroyed.

In Baghdad, assassinations ruled an otherwise quiet day. Gunmen killed deputy police chief Basil Abdullah and two of his guards near the al Shaab National Stadium. The head of security at the Iraqi Ministry of Education, Brigadier General Mohsen al-Yaseri, was killed in the Mansour district after gunmen stopped his car. A third assassination occurred in the Gaderiya district where Professor Abdul Hameed al-Harith was killed in an unspecified manner.

Also in the capital, an explosion in the Wehda neighborhood killed one person and wounded two others, and mortars fell in the Bayaladit district, injuring four people. Another bomb exploded near the national theater but no casualties were reported. Also, 35 bullet-riddled bodies were recovered in several neighborhoods.

In Fallujah, a car bomb killed three police officers.

Three bodies were discovered in Iskandariya; they bore gunshot wounds and signs of torture.

A roadside bomb killed one and wounded a second person in Riyadh, Iraq.

In Diwaniyah, gunmen killed a former Baath party member.

A 7-year-old girl was killed during a clash between gunmen and police in Mosul. Also, Professor Mohammed Haidar Sulaiman was shot dead in eastern Mosul.

In the Diyala province, a civilian was killed in a drive-by shooting and roadside bomb killed one police officer and injured another person.

Two oil security workers were killed and two more were injured in Balad, when they were stopped by gunmen running a false checkpoint.

In other non-violent events: Eight thieves were killed during a fire caused by their attempt to steal oil from a pipeline, and a detainee died of apparently natural causes at Camp Bucca. They are not counted in today's tally.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis