Updated at 8:08 p.m. EDT, Oct. 5, 2008
At least 26 Iraqis were
killed and 13 more were wounded in the latest round of violence. Reports resumed
out of Mosul after several days of relative quiet, but now Baghdad appears unusually
peaceful. Meanwhile, a Turkish general accused
local authorities in northern Iraq of tolerating Kurdish separatists.
In
Mosul, eleven people
were killed, including women and children, during a U.S.-led raid on a building.
Bullets were exchanged before a suicide bomber detonated his vest. One
child was injured. Some witnesses say
that they victims were killed by U.S. gunfire after U.S. troops were attacked
by the bomber.
Separately, gunmen attacked a butcher's shop, killing
the owner and wounding his son. Clashes left one
gunman dead and two policemen wounded. The bodies
of three people who were kidnapped yesterday were found. A civilian
was shot and killed in a northern neighborhood. Gunmen wounded
two policemen. Also, three roadside bombs were detonated, but no
casualties were reported. And, one gunman was either killed or captured.
Four
people were killed and six more were wounded when gunmen attacked a funeral
in Zanjili.
Two
policemen were killed during an attack on their station yesterday near Ramadi.
A young Kurdish
man was found dead in Kirkuk.
Gunmen in Numaniya killed
a civilian.
A man was
killed in Khan Bani Saad during an ongoing attack.
Near Basra,
a bomb that blasted a convoy carrying Western contractors wounded
an Iraqi civilian.
In Baghdad, three suspects were captured.
An
al-Qaeda leader was detained
in Baquba.
In Anbar, 36 detainees were freed
after "proving innocent."
The Interior Ministry gave
Diwaniya police permission to hunt wanted suspects outside their normal
jurisdiction.
A chief prosecutor of the Jalawla criminal court system
has resigned
over what he said was interference from the Interior Ministry. Over the last several
weeks the central government has sought to increase its authority in Jalawla and
other predominantly Kurdish areas of Diyala province. This has led to clashes
with local security personnel and accusations of harassment from local leaders.
Many Iraqis still fear Interior Ministry personnel as the organization had at
one time been was synonymous with sectarian death squads. Although the situation
has improved, corruption still appears to be rampant within the ministry. Many
in Jalawla would like the Kurdish Peshmerga to continue monitoring security there.
A day after significant clashes, Turkish general Hasan Igsiz accused
Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq of tolerating Kurdistan Workers Party
(PKK) rebels. The rebels allegedly attack Turkish targets from bases in Iraq,
while Turkey regularly stages cross-border operations against them. The
PKK deny
that yesterday's attack came from inside Iraq and said it was launched from inside
Turkey.
The PKK wants an autonomous Kurdish homeland across parts of Turkey,
Iraq, Iran, Syria and Armenia. Turkey wants Kurdish authorities to declare the
PKK rebels terrorists instead and treat them as such. Turkey is limited
in what can be done for fear of alienating allies, but five border posts were
closed
today in response to yesterday's incidents.