Thursday:3 GIs, 89 Iraqis Killed; 119 Iraqis Wounded

Updated at 11:20 p.m. EDT, Oct. 12, 2007

A mortar attack on the U.S. army headquarters in Baghdad left two American soldiers dead and 40 more wounded. In other violent incidents, 89 Iraqis were killed or found dead, and 119 more were wounded. As the specifics of the Camp Victory attack become known, these figures may rise significantly. In a separate hostile incident, a MNC-I soldier died of wounds received during combat yestarday in Baghdad.

In Baghdad, overnight mortar fire killed two Coalition soldiers of unreported nationality at Camp Victory, near the Baghdad airport in al-Bayaa. Two of the 40 wounded were foreign civilian contractors. The numbers of American and Iraqi casualties have not been released. Camp Victory houses the headquarters for the American forces in Iraq. It is a separate location from the better known Green Zone which houses the American and British embassies. Later, a police officer and six policemen, who are believed involved, were arrested during a raid on an al-Bayaa precinct station.

Five dumped bodies were found scattered in several Baghdad neighborhoods. At a New Baghdad café, a suicide bomber killed eight people and wounded 25 others. A roadside bomb in al-Iskan wounded five civilians. Two policemen were wounded during a separate bombing in Shula. No casualties were reported during an early morning bombing in Karrada. Two people were injured during a bombing near the Shorja marketplace. Mortar fire killed a father and son and also wounded three others yesterday in al-Mashtal. Also, the new moon was spotted in Baghdad; this marks the end of Ramadan and the beginning of Eid al-Fitr festivities.

Just west of Baghdad, the home of a Sunni imam who preached against al-Qaeda was attacked. He was killed and his wife was wounded. Their nephew managed to kill two attackers before the rest of them fled. Those gunmen were killed in a previously reported U.S. airstrike.

In the Lake Thar Thar area, U.S. toops claim to have killed 19 suspects and 15 civilians during security operations. Six people were also wounded. The civilian casualties were mostly children and a few women.

In Kirkuk, a car bomb targeted the chief of the traffic police. At least eight people were killed and 52 more were wounded, including members of the chief’s retinue. Brigadier-General Salar Ahmed is among the wounded. Although the bomb was meant for the chief’s convoy, people at a nearby petrol station were among the casualties. Shoppers purchasing new clothes and treats for the upcoming Eid holiday were also affected. In a separate incident, police in Kirkuk killed three men suspected of being in a roadside bomb cell. Yesterday in Kirkuk, two car bombs at an army base killed one Iraqi policeman and injured three others.

In Mosul, gunmen shot dead the son of an Islamic party official; other members of his party were uninjured. Also, U.S. forces injured a man and a girl in a separate incident. Guards at the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) headquarters shot an oncoming suicide bomber; the bomber managed to detonate his cargo and injure eight people, including four guards.

Gunmen attacked a minibus traveling from Khalis to Kirkuk. Five Iraqis were killed and four more were injured.

Clashes at Abara police checkpoints left one officer and a gunman dead, and two other policemen were injured.

Three bodies, including one belonging to a woman, were found in Zubaidiya. They bore the usual gunshot and torture wounds.

Gunmen in Mahaweel killed a woman during a drive-by shooting.

Two corpses were found in Basra. They bore gunshot wounds.

In Abbasi, a suicide bomber only managed to cause property damage.

A man was kidnapped in Hawija.

In Baquba, gunmen killed a man, his wife, and a relative, while two other family members were wounded. Two policemen were killed and four were wounded in an attack on a checkpoint; a gunman was also killed.

U.S. forces shot dead a former military officer while at his home in Hadid.

Iraqi soldiers killed one suspect and arrested 30 more in unspecified locations.

Three-hundred innocent detainees were released from Camp Cropper.

Also, the European Union is warning Turkey about its possible military action in northern Iraq. Military activity could destabilize the region, strain relations, and ruin Turkey’s chances to join the E.U.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis