Wednesday: 6 GIs, 1 Briton, 178 Iraqis Killed; 188 Iraqis Wounded

Updated at 12:17 a.m. EDT, Aug. 2, 2007

Violence returned at full throttle to Baghdad as several large bombings killed dozens of people on a day that the Sunni bloc quit the Iraqi government. Overall, 178 Iraqis were killed and 188 were wounded during the latest round of attacks. Also, 18 Iraqis were kidnapped at a fake checkpoint. Military authorities also reported that one British and six American servicemembers were killed and another 16 GIs were wounded during separate events.

Yesterday, two Task Force Marne soldiers were killed and 10 were wounded in an indirect fire attack. Three MND-B soldiers were killed and six were wounded in Baghdad when an EFP was detonated near their patrol. In a separate incident nearby, another MND-B soldier was killed in a small arms attack. Also, a British soldier was killed in an IED attack in Basra. At least 80 GIs lost their lives during July. Although that is the smallest monthly total for Americans since last November, British forces lost eight members, making July the fifth deadliest month for the UK since the invasion.

After a couple of light days of violence, Baghdad once again was rocked by several large-scale bombings. A fuel truck enticed victims to line up at a petrol station in the Mansour district before a suicide bomber detonated his cargo, killing 50 people and wounding 60 more of them. In al-Hurriya Square in the Karrada district, a suicide car bomb killed at least 20 people and injured 40 others. Near the Green Zone, a car bomb killed three people and injured six in the al-Harthiya neighborhood. In the Doura area, another car bomb killed three and wounded five more. A car bomb in Yarmouk killed one person and wounded five others. An IED in al-Mamoun killed a policeman and injured seven others.

Also in Baghdad, a senior traffic official was killed in a drive-by shooting. Gunmen also killed a pair of civilians in the Yarmouk district. No casualties were reported by mortar fire near the Green Zone. A pharmacist and her 19-year-old daughter were kidnapped in al-Salam. U.S. helicopters bombed Zafaraniyah and injured four people. Two were killed when mortars fell on Saidiya. And 25 bodies were recovered from various locations.

Iraqi soldiers killed 14 suspects and arrested 89 others in unspecified locations. British forces killed an unspecified number of gunmen during a clash in Basra. The head of the pharmacist's union was released after being held by gunmen for several days.

In Madaen, three people were killed and six were wounded when gunmen detonated explosives within a building.

A medical source in Baquba reported that a bomb in a marketplace killed 40 people and wounded 25 others.

Nine soldiers were killed and 14 more were injured in eastern Diyala province when a booby-trapped car was detonated near their vehicle. They were returning from leave.

At a checkpoint in Fallujah, two policemen were killed and six others, including civilians, were injured.

A roadside bomb killed an Iraqi soldier and wounded three others in Iskandariya.

A Ninewah police chief was uninjured during a roadside bomb attack in Mosul; however, four other people were wounded in the incident.

In Mahmudiya, two policemen were injured in an IED explosion.

A former Iraqi air force pilot was shot and killed in front of his Karbala home.

In Kirkuk, a civilian was killed during one of a pair of IED attacks targeting police patrols. Two men were arrested after a kidnapping attempt on a child.

At a fake checkpoint near Balad, 18 Shi’ite men were kidnapped.

A full curfew was imposed on Samarra.

Border guards arrested 24 people who were trying to enter Turkey illegally near the Syrian-Iraqi-Turkish border area.

An internally displaced persons camp outside Najaf has closed to new arrivals, forcing them to look elsewhere for safe lodging. These camps serve refugees who have been forced to leave their homes due to violence.

Danish forces began their pullout from Iraq and handing over their operations to British forces.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis