Wednesday: 2 Marines, 53 Iraqis Killed; 21 Iraqis Wounded

Updated at 12:05 a.m. EDT, Sept. 13, 2007

At least 53 Iraqis were killed and 21 were wounded in light violence today. A pair of heists in Baghdad netted $790,000 for criminals wearing police uniforms. Also, the DOD reported that two Marines were killed during combat operations in Anbar on Monday.

In Baghdad, nine bodies were found. A roadside bomb targeting a motorcade killed one civilian and wounded six others near Beirut Square instead. In Saidiya, three people were wounded in a roadside bombing. Also, in separate incidents, gunmen stopped vehicles carrying bank employees and robbed them of $790,000 total; in one incident the gunmen were wearing police commando uniforms and drove police cars.

Gunmen in al-Tahrir killed two people from the same displaced family. Displaced families are easy targets for gunmen, who issue orders and otherwise terrorize them.

Two bodies were found near Muwailha.

Mortar fire in Rasheed killed a man and wounded a child.

Shelling in Iskandariya wounded four people.

Three people were wounded in a roadside bombing near Hawija.

A policeman was killed near his home in Hilla.

In Mahaweel, police found a body bearing gunshot wounds to the head.

A police major was killed in front of his Tikrit home.

At a police checkpoint in the Guyara area near Mosul, gunmen launched an attack that left six policemen dead.

In al-Salam, gunmen firing into a car killed two people and wounded two others.

Two people were killed and two more wounded when gunmen fire upon a crowd in Muqdadiyah.

The Iraqi army killed 12 suspects and detained 59 in unspecified locations throughout the country. In Muqdadiyah, they killed a suspected al-Qaeda leader. Meanwhile, U.S. forces killed another 12 suspects and detained 31 people in separate locations in northern and central Iraq. In Shurqat, Iraqi soldiers arrested two suspected al-Qaeda leaders. U.S. forces arrested a ministry director. Also, combined forces arrested a Mahdi Army leader and his brothers in Diwaniya.

Also, four Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) rebels were killed in Turkey.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis