Thursday: 1 GI, 49 Iraqis Killed; 45 Iraqis Wounded

Updated at 12:30 a.m. EDT, Sept. 7, 2007

At least 49 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 45 more were wounded in the latest violence. One American servicemember was killed in a non-combat incident yesterday. Meanwhile, security experts are questioning the methodology used by the U.S. military to claim that violence in Iraq has dropped in recent months.

In Baghdad, U.S. airstrikes killed 19 people and wounded 10 others in the Washash neighborhood; several buildings were demolished, and at least one woman is among the dead. In a neighborhood near Sadr City, a roadside bomb targeting a U.S. patrol injured four civilians instead. In Zaafaraniya, a roadside bomb killed one construction worker and injured five more. Also, 12 dumped bodies were found in various neighborhoods.

Three people were killed and 17 wounded when a car bomb was detonated as police drove past a Tikrit petrol station.

Six bodies, wearing camouflage uniforms, were discovered in Mosul.

Four people were wounded at Kirkuk’s Serjiner bakery when a bomb exploded nearby. Gunmen stormed a clinic in al-Jumhouriya and kidnapped a physician.

Near the Basra city hall, a director of military intelligence for the city escaped an assassination attempt that killed two bodyguards.

In Baquba, a roadside bomb on a main road exploded, injuring five people, including women and children.

U.S. forces killed six suspects and detained 25 in raids across northern and central Iraq. Joint U.S.-Iraqi forces arrested another 28 near Kirkuk and detained 16 near Baquba. Also, security forces in Mosul arrested an official who was responsible for guarding a mosque that was blown up in 2006; he is accused of colluding with the perpetrators.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis