Monday: 56 Iraqis Killed, 11 Wounded

Updated at 11:50 p.m EST, Jan. 14, 2008

At least 56 Iraqis were killed or found dead and another 11 were wounded in the latest violence. Most of the deaths reported today were suspected gunmen in the Diyala province, but even the now-quiet Anbar province saw multiple attacks. No Coalition troops were reported killed. Also, the Iraqi defense minister suggested that U.S. troops may be needed in Iraq until 2018 or even later.

In Baghdad, five unidentified bodies were recovered. Gunmen killed a judge and his driver as they traveled through Mansour on their way to his work. Two Iraqi soldiers were killed in Zaafaraniya. Police commandos announced that on Jan. 2 they had liberated a wounded kidnap victim near Sadr City; the kidnappers were arrested. Also, Baghdad police added mobile phones, purses, and weapons to a motorcycle ban already in effect for the Ashuraa observances; they also advise not to take children to large gatherings.

Iraqi security forces, backed by U.S. troops, killed 15 suspects and arrested 58 more in Buhriz. Seven policemen were killed inside a booby-trapped home; at least three more were wounded. Also, an Awakening Council member was gunned down outside of town.

A car bomb in Mosul wounded six people, including three civilians, in the Ghazlani neighborhood. In al-Tahrir, Iraqi soldiers killed two men they found planting a bomb. Also, two dead bodies were recovered.

In Haditha, four dumped bodies were discovered.

A senior Sadrist leader was gunned down in Basra.

Near Amara, a hostage was freed.

Mortars in al-Rutba caused no casualties.

In Fallujah, a mortar shell fell in the al-Wehda neighborhood but caused no casualties.

Hundreds of weapons were confiscated in Karbala as the Ashuraa religious observance continues. Three people were arrested southwest of town.

Two Coalition troops were slightly wounded during a bombing at a girls’ school in Baquba.

In al-Bahraz, Iraqi forces killed seven suspects.

U.S. forces announced that security operations in northern Iraq resulted in at least eight more deaths than previously reported; at least 60 were killed over the last week, but some of those deaths may or may not be duplicates. The casualties reported in Buhriz and al-Bahraz today, and 30 deaths reported last week may or may not be part of these 60 deaths.

Four suspects were arrested near Kirkuk.

Police detained two suspects in Najaf. Also, U.S. helicopters flew over the city in security operations designed to protect Ashuraa pilgrims.

In Samarra, 73 innocent detainees were released. Most of them were arrested in June after an attack on the Askariya shrine.

Police in Hawija located a large weapons cache and confiscated it.

An IED targeting a vehicle carrying policemen blew up near Tarmiyah. No word on casualties.

A child was injured during a mortar attack in Balad.

Also, the Turkish prime minister refuses to estimate when Turkish attacks in northern Iraq may end.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis