Saturday: 19 Iraqis Killed, 20 Wounded

Updated at 11:10 p.m. EST, Jan. 26, 2008

At least 19 Iraqis were killed and 20 others were wounded during a day of light violence. No Coalition deaths were reported. Meanwhile, the Iraqi government set forth a massive amnesty plan for detainees, while an Awakening Council spokesman alleged that Muammar Qaddafi’s son might be involved in bombings around Mosul. Also, U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker said that there are no plans for a permanent U.S. base in Iraq.

The Iraqi government announced a general amnesty for 20, 000 prisoners held across the country. The amnesty will not include those guilty of greater charges nor the thousands who were already released under other amnesty plans. It is believed that many of the people currently held in prison without trial are innocent. The U.S. authorities already release about 65 prisoners every day from their prisons.

An Awakening Council spokesman claimed that Wednesday’s bombing in Mosul was perpetrated by Seifaddin, a group lead by Muammar Qaddafi’s son Seif. He also said that the group has been operating in the Mosul area for the last three months or so. The U.S. military did not confirm the allegation.

In Baghdad, one dumped body was found in Doura. In southern Baghdad, an armed attack targeting an Iraqi patrol instead killed one civilian and wounded three others. Five people were wounded by a roadside bomb explosion near al-Shabb stadium. At a school in Karrada, gunmen wounded two female students. Gunmen killed a policeman and wounded a second one in Bab al-Sharqi. A mortar struck the Green Zone but no casualties were reported. A roadside bomb targeting an American patrol in eastern Baghdad left no casualties as well.

A bomb killed a civilian and wounded another person in Abu Saida.

A tribal sheikh was killed in Najaf.

In Sulaimaniyah, the body of an Iraqi worker from Karbala, shot twice, was found. A corpse belonging to a Kurd was also discovered.

Two truckers were abducted from a fake checkpoint near Tuz Khormato.

Police arrested two men who then confessed to involvement in a massive bombing in Amara last December.

Two guards were injured during an armed attack on a building in Baquba.

In Muqdadiyah, a roadside bomb killed one police officer and wounded three others.

Mortars in al-Salam wounded three people.

An IED killed a civilian in Balad.

Five suspects were killed during joint U.S-Iraqi operations in Baquba. In Wajihiya, U.S-Iraqi forces killed three suspects. U.S.-Iraqi forces detained five suspects in Kirkuk. Two more suspects were arrested near Tikrit and Mosul. Two gunmen were killed by the Samarra Awakening Council. Also, 14 suspects were arrested in Baghdad during a failed kidnapping attempt.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis