Saturday: 110 Iraqis Confirmed Dead, Dozens More Killed in Clashes; 133 Iraqis Wounded

Updated at 12:40 a.m. EST, Feb. 25, 2007

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said today that approximately 400 militants have been killed since the beginning of a security crackdown ten days ago. Several dozen more were killed today at a base north of the capital. Another 110 Iraqis were confirmed killed or found dead and 133 wounded in various incidents around Iraq.

Iraqi troops reported killing an unspecified number of gunmen at a base north of Baghdad in Mashahda; the Iraqi troops had U.S. air support. Among the known dead are six children and their father, two children were injured. U.S. forces also detained 12 suspected al-Qaeda members captured in several raids. At least 400 militants have been killed during a security crackdown and another 400 arrested, said the Iraqi prime minister. Mortars and rockets fell on Coalition bases in Fallujah and Basra; no casualties were reported in either incident.

A truck bomb in Habbaniyah killed 40 people and 64 more were injured. The attack occurred just as worshippers were leaving the mosque.

In Baghdad, numerous explosions were heard; a spokesmen for Iraqi forces said the explosions were part of a military operation. A bomb on a mini-bus killed four and wounded eight in the Karrada district. Near a bus station in al-Alawi neighborhood, a car bomb killed five and wounded ten. A separate car bomb in the Jamia neighborhood killed two and wounded four more; the explosion followed clashes between Coalition forces and gunmen. A suicide car bomb killed four and wounded at least one other near the Iraqi president’s home in Jadriya.

Also in the capital, ten people were wounded when mortars fell in the Abu Dhshir area. A rocket killed two family members and wounded three more at a home in the Adil neighborhood. In the al-Soala neighborhood, katyusha rockets killed 10 people and wounded 25 others and in the Amil district mortars killed three and wounded four more. Near the Baghdad airport, gunmen stormed an Iraqi police checkpoint; eight policemen and two gunmen were killed, two policemen were wounded. Also, 20 bodies were discovered scattered around Baghdad.

The owner of the Al Araf newspaper, Samir Menshed Shaheen, was shot dead in Kirkuk. A roadside bomb killed no one, and police defused three more and detained two men.

Gunmen killed a Kut police officer and his 12-year-old son in front of their home.

Two civilians were shot dead in Mosul.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis