Monday: Attacks Kill 160 Iraqis; 15 US Troops Die in Three Days

Updated at 11:20 p.m. EDT, Oct. 16, 2006

Five more American servicemen were killed and two others injured in Iraq over the weekend. Also, an American GI, who had been injured in Iraq, died at a hospital in the U.S. Details about the death of third soldier on Friday were also released. This brings the total numbers of Americans dead due to fighting in Iraq to 15 since Friday. The daily body count for Iraqis was even grimmer: At least 160 Iraqis died overnight Sunday and into Monday, while another 124 were reported wounded in various events throughout the country.

In separate statements from the US-led coalition in Iraq, officials noted that Two Task Force Lightning Soldiers were killed and two others were wounded on Sunday "as a result of enemy action while conducting operations in Kirkuk province." Another pair lost their lives due to enemy action in Salah Ad Din Province as well. An American soldier was also killed just north of Baghdad by an improvised explosive device, which blasted his vehicle at 10:45 p.m. local time last night. Details about the death of another soldier on Friday in Baghdad were released. Also, a GI at Walter Reed Hospital in D.C. finally succumbed to injuries sustained during a roadside bomb blast in Baghdad last September. He reportedly died on Friday.

Over the weekend, at least 15 American servicemen died. Along with the six reported today, two Marines died on Sunday and one on Saturday in Anbar Province. Three soldiers and an airman died in Baghdad on Saturday. Also, two soldiers died on Friday in separate incidents or southwest of the capital.

In Baghdad, Imad al-Faroon, the brother of a top prosecutor in Saddam Hussein’s trial, was shot dead at his home. Air Force Brigadier Farouq Atta was killed and two of his companions were injured yesterday in an attack by gunmen in the Waziriya neighborhood. Also, an employee of al-Iraqiya TV was shot dead.

Throughout the capital, 46 bodies bearing gunshot wounds and evidence of torture have been found since Saturday night, including 11 bodies found at a dump in Sadr City. In the Fadel neighborhood, clashes between gunmen and the Iraqi army in Midas Square left three civilians dead and another six wounded.

Three roadside bombs exploded near a bank in central Baghdad, killing three and wounding seven. In the al-Jadida district, a car bomb blasted a patrol near a bakery; seven were wounded, including four policemen. Near the University of Technology, a roadside bomb wounded three Iraqi policemen. And just before Muslims broke their Ramadan fast for today, two simultaneous car bomb blasts tooks the lives of 20 Iraqis and wounded another 27 at a Shi'ite funeral in the Ur neighborhood.

Just south of Baghdad, gunmen killed one member of an oil protection force.

In Balad, the bodies of 28 more Sunnis were discovered. Sectarian violence exploded after the kidnapping-murders of 17 Shi’ites last Friday. At least 74 Sunnis have so far been killed in retaliatory attacks. Also in the city, a mortar attack left three Iraqis dead, including a child; five others were injured.

The mayor of Suwayra reports that a car bomb killed nine and wounded 35 near a bank in the town’s market. A security guard and six Iraqi engineers were killed in a separate attack; three people were also injured. During the attack, a policeman was kidnapped and six others "went missing." Of the missing, four were rescued, one was found dead, and the last is still unaccounted for.

In Mosul, gunmen killed Raad al-Hayali, the media director in the education department, last night, and hospital workers reported the recovery of two bodies today. Gunmen also attacked a police patrol, wounding two officers.

In the Shi’ite town of Najaf, a roadside bomb targeted the head of the police crime department, Mohammad Daeekh; one bodyguard was wounded in the attack.

Gunmen killed two civilians in Muqdadiyah.

In Baquba, the corpses of three policemen were discovered. They were kidnapped upon their return from a training course in Jordan. Another three bodies were found. Seven others were also killed and at least four wounded in separate incidents.

In Khalis, a policeman and a civilian were killed in a drive-by shooting. Gunmen also shot dead four and wounded seven civilians when they attacked a crowd of people at a bus station. Last night, a bombing near a mosque left seven wounded. On a road near Khalis, gunmen shot into a vehicle, killing two and wounding one. Also, two of former Prime Minster Ibrahim al-Jaafari's bodyguards were killed by gunmen.

Gunmen stormed a home in Mahmuyida and killed a Shi'ite family of five.

A policeman, guarding the electrical infrastructure in Madaen, was killed in an attack on police.

In Basra, an Iraqi security worker was injured when militiamen shot a rocket-propelled grenade at an empty vehicle belonging to the British consulate.

Clashes between gunmen and military forces in Kirkuk left one gunmen dead and four others injured. An Iraqi soldier was reported killed in the fighting and two others were injured.

Also, in Duluiyah, a police officer noted that militiamen had moved into the area to murder an unknown number of Sunni men and boys.

Compiled by Margaret Griffis