Thursday: 2 US Soldiers, 12 Iraqis Killed; 24 Iraqis Wounded

Updated at 9:30 p.m. EDT, Oct. 16, 2008

At least 12 Iraqis were killed and 24 others were wounded in light violence. Also, Two U.S. soldier deaths were reported as well. In political news, the Iraqi Parliament accused U.S. General Odierno of meddling in Iraqi affairs when he said that Iran was bribing parliament members. Elsewhere, Turkish forces and the PKK continued their hostilities at the Turkey-Iraq border. Meanwhile, a heavy sandstorm crippled Baghdad this morning, delaying news reports for several hours.

An American soldier was killed in an indirect fire attack in Diyala province. Indirect fire generally means missiles, mortars and the like. One U.S. soldier died of non-combat causes as well.

Clashes broke out in Amara where three policemen and four civilians were killed. Police are searching for the perpetrators.

In Baghdad, two Iraqi soldiers were wounded in a Waziriya roadside bombing. A bomb attached to a car wounded three people. A body was found in Amil. Two bombs were defused in Sadr City.

A roadside bomb killed a six-year-old and wounded his 7-year-old brother as they were herding sheep in Buhriz.

In Baquba, a suicide bomber failed to take other lives.

A suicide car bomber wounded three policemen in Balad.

In Mosul, seven Iraqi soldiers were wounded in a hand grenade attack. Two children were wounded in a roadside bombing. Another roadside bomb wounded two people. Three suspects were detained in one incident, while another five were captured in another. Also, Iraqi soldiers fired into the air, wounding four civilians.

Police killed a kidnapper in Kirkuk. Gunmen killed a civlian separately.

Gunmen in in Chamchamal killed a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan organization.

Two suspects were detained in Kut.

Clashes resumed in Turkey between Turkish forces and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) separatists. At first, Turkish officials said that five people were killed on each side; later they said they killed 18 rebels.. The PKK claimed to have shot down a helicopter just over the border in Turkey; Turkey blamed the crash on mechanical failures. Both sides are considered fairly unreliable sources for accurate casualty figures. Because of the terrain, third parties figures are nearly impossible. The latest hostilities began two weeks ago after a particularly bloody clash.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Charawa reported they received shelling from an area on the Iranian side of the border. No casualties were reported. Like Turkey, Iran frequently shells suspected Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq, but the origins of this particular attack are unknown.

Also, thirty innocent detainees were released today from Camp Bucca . The U.S. military said that appoximately 15,000 detainees were released this year. Critics have said that many detainees in Iraq are innocent and have been kept in jails for months if not years without trial.

Yesterday, U.S. forces reported killing the second in command of al-Qaeda in Iraq, while Sweden announced the death a Swedish citizen. It turns out that the two are the same person. Abu Qaswarah was a native of Morocco but also held Swedish citizenship.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis