Thursday: 12 GIs, 1 Briton, 58 Iraqis Killed; 119 Iraqis Wounded

Updated at 11:35 p.m. EDT, June 21, 2007

U.S. troops suffered heavy losses over the last two days. Twelve American servicemembers were killed and five more were wounded in various incidents. This brings the 48-hour total to 14 deaths; two deaths had already been reported yesterday. A British servicemember was also killed. Iraqi citizens did not fare better: at least 58 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 119 wore were wounded.

The U.S. military reported that five MND-B soldiers were killed and one more was injured when a roadside bomb blasted their vehicle during a security operation today in Baghdad; one Iraqi interpreter was killed and two Iraqi civilians were wounded during the incident. A rocket-propelled grenade killed an MNC-I soldier and wounded three more elsewhere in the capital. Yesterday, four MND-B soldiers were killed and one was wounded during roadside bombing in Baghdad. And, two Marines were killed in Anbar province during combat operations. Two servicemember deaths were already reported yesterday.

In Suleiman Bek, a suicide truck bomber using an oil tanker killed 20 people and wounded 75 more during an attack that demolished homes. The mayor, police chief and several city council members were reported wounded in the attack.

In al-Sedda, two al-Sadr officials were killed in a drive-by shooting in what may be a new dimension to the violence. Rival Shi’ite groups in southern Iraq have recently ratcheted up attacks on each other as they vie for control of Iraq’s politics.

A U.S. airstrike in Baquba missed its target and struck a nearby building instead, injuring 11 civilians. A spokesman for the 1920 Brigades, a Sunni militant group who is working with U.S. forces, said that two of its members were killed in the airstrike. Also, hospital officials said that they were receiving numerous bodies from clashes taking place in a western neighborhood.

Gunmen using mortars attacked Bahraz village at dawn. Three civilians were killed and 15 were injured. The gunmen also destroyed the al-Hakim mosque in nearby Kanaan.

Three police commandos were killed and 12 more were wounded during an attack on their station in Madaen.

In Baghdad, no casualties were reported during clashes that took place after an attack on a checkpoint in Adhamiya. Mortars landed in the Green Zone without causing casualties. In Jamiya, a U.S. humvee was destroyed, but no word on casualties. A mortar fell in Abu Dsheer, killing one person and wounded three more. Also 20 dumped bodies were found scattered mostly in western neighborhoods.

Three bodies were found in Khalis.

A roadside bomb targeted Iraqi and Coalition forces near Kirkuk resulted in no casualties.

Gunmen injured one resident of Hawija.

An Iraqi army corporal was killed while on his way to al-Sufra village.

One government official was killed and another survived an assassination attempt during separate incidents in Basra.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis