Wednesday: 44 Iraqis, 1 US Soldier Killed; 96 Injured Across Iraq

Updated at 11:30 p.m. EDT, Oct. 11, 2006

Early this morning, a American soldier died from wounds received during a roadside bomb blast. Forty-four Iraqis have also died and 96 were injured in other attacks, including an ammo dump fire where a GI and an Iraqi interpreter were "slightly wounded." According to a new study about to be published in the British journal The Lancet, an estimated 655,000 Iraqis have died either directly or indirectly due to the U.S. invasion.

Baghdad was rocked overnight after a mortar round hit an ammunition dump at a U.S. base. Although blasts were heard through the night, there were only two reported injuries--one American soldier and on Iraqi interpreter. Personnel at the base in the Dura neighborhood had been moved to bomb shelters. The Islamic Army in Iraq, a nationalist anti-occupation group, has claimed responsibility.

Throughout the capital other explosives were detonated: A car bomb near the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs killed two civilians and wounded 12. In the Ghandeer district, a car bomb targeting a police patrol killed two and wounded 10, including four policemen. Soon thereafter, another car bomb blasted a police patrol at Mustansiriyah Square; two were killed and 16 wounded. Also, a booby-trapped car in a southern neighborhood caused the deaths of two bystanders and injured 22 others, including eight policemen. In the Al-Mansour district a civilian was injured when two car bombs exploded. Three Iraqis were killed and eight were injured by a car bomb in the Sara district. A car bomb near an auto parts store in southwestern Baghdad killed the store owner and wounded four pedestrians. In the Amil neighborhood, a roadside bomb killed five laborers and wounded six others. A roadside bomb exploded near the Yarmouk hospital, killing one and wounding six.

Also, a policeman was shot dead in an unnamed part of the capital. In western Baghdad, gunmen shot dead a member of the Iraqi national police force as he was driving in his car. Gunmen also stormed a home in the Dura district; they killed four and injured two other members of one family.

The bodies of seven men were discovered in Kut. Three were recovered from the Tigris; the others were found elsewhere. All had been tortured and shot multiple times. Also, a peasant woman was killed by a bomb at a farm.

In Iskandariya, a roadside bomb blasted Brigadier Qais al-Mamouri’s convoy; he is the chief of Babil police. He was not hurt, but his driver and two bodyguards were injured.

Gunmen stormed the home of Sheikh Raad Mutar Saleh in Suwayra and shot the Mandanien religious cleric dead.

In Falluja, gunmen shot dead a policemen as he was standing in front of his home.

Another policeman was shot dead in Kirkuk.

Near Baquba, gunmen killed three and injured a three others when they sprayed the victims’ car with bullets. In a separate incident, another man was shot dead. In a third nearby village, gunmen killed two and injured a third person on the main street.

Near Tikrit, a roadside bomb killed one and injured another person.

Near Mosul, the headless corpse of Amir Ayuub, a Christian priest, was found.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis