Friday: 7 Iraqis Killed, 5 Wounded

Updated at 10:10 p.m. EST Feb. 6, 2009

At least seven Iraqis were killed and five more were wounded, as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited Iraq. No Coalition deaths were announced, but the U.S. army reported a spike in suicide deaths last month; however, the trend may have gone on longer than admitted. Also, a defense contractor under investigation in the electrocution deaths of U.S. soldiers was awarded a new multi-million dollar electrical contract. And, a senior administration official said that U.S. President Obama will announce in March whether he will withdraw troops within 16 months or opt for a timetable that could run as long as 23 months.

A joint U.S.-Iraqi security team conducted raids in Kirkuk, where they netted six suspects but also killed a civilian.

A bomb in Khanaqin killed an Iraqi soldier and wounded two others.

Two bodies were discovered in Saidiya.

In Mosul, gunmen fired at a patrol in the Shifaa neighborhood but wounded a civilian instead. Also, Iraqi soldiers reported capturing an Egyptian who is suspected of being the leader of an al-Qaeda group. Police defused a bomb outside the home of a provincial council member.

Two men were killed in a Tal Afar marketplace in what apparently was a tribal dispute.

A body was fished out of a Suwayra area river.

A landmine wounded two shepherds in Kuweir.

In Baghdad, police safely detonated a bomb that caused damage to a liquor store in Mansour. A hand grenade lobbed at a store, also in Mansour, left no casualties either.

A weapons and explosives cache was discovered in Fallujah.

Two suspects were captured in Nahda along with a weapons cache.

Five suspects were detained in Tuz.

Two people were arrested in Amara.

Police safely defused a bomb in Basra. In a separate incident, police detained two men and confiscated C4 explosives.

Turkey again conducted an air raid on suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) hideouts in northern Iraq.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis