Friday: 1 GI, 60 Iraqis Killed; 55 Iraqis Wounded

Updated at 11:30 p.m EDT, July 27, 2007

U.S. forces entered Karbala where a major clash with the Mahdi Army ensued and dozens were killed or wounded. Overall, at least 60 Iraqis were killed and 55 were wounded throughout the country. Also, a Task Force Lightning was killed when an explosion blasted his vehicle while in Diyala province.

Clashes erupted after U.S. forces entered Karbala to arrest several Mehdi Army members. Up to 17 people were killed and 25 were wounded, including civilians. The governor’s house was attacked, but no casualties were reported.

In Baghdad, seven bodies were recovered from several neighborhoods. Gunmen detained a man while they filled his car with explosives before releasing him; the car blew up at a Saidiya checkpoint, killing the hostage and injuring two policemen. Also in Saidiya, gunmen stormed the home of an engineer, killing him and his wife. Four civilians were injured during a mortar attack in Za'afaraniya. U.S. forces bombed Husseiniya where they injured two civilians.

A pair of mortars in Mahmudiya killed a woman and wounded two others, including a child.

In Kirkuk, a rocket attack left two people killed and one wounded. An Iraqi soldier was killed in a drive-by shooting at a checkpoint. A roadside bomb injured six people. Also, two people were wounded by a bomb at a petrol station.

Two people were wounded in Hawija when a bomb was detonated near a petrol station.

One person was killed and six others were wounded during a bombing in central Muqdadiyah. Two bodies were found.

According to Turkish TV, four Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) members were killed in an explosion at their campsite in the Kandil Mountains.

Near Mada’en, militants attacked a power station. No casualties were reported, but the power was cut off to Mada’en and al-Wihda.

Seven police commandos were killed in a roadside bomb attack in Samarra. Afterwards, the police opened fire and killed three civilians.

One body was found in Ba'quba.

In Mosul, two policemen were killed during a small arms attack. During a separate clash between police and gunmen, two civlians were killed and three were injured. Also, the bodies of five female kidnap victims were discovered.

Gunmen killed a man in Buhriz.

In Basra, gunmen killed the head of the Iraqi lawyer's syndicate.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis