55 Iraqis Killed, 66 Injured in War Attacks, According to September 12-13, 2008 News Reports

Editor's Note:

Only God knows how many Iraqis are killed everyday. The following represents part of the reporting but readers are advised that the actual number of deaths should very much exceed what's reported.

Concerning deaths of US soldiers, only those US citizens who die in Iraq are included in the statistics. There are no published statistics about US soldiers who die of their injuries after that. There are no published statistics about the deaths or injuries of the private army soldiers (security contractors), or about those without US citizenship.

It is noteworthy that May 20, 2008 news reports showed that death squads which execute Iraqis on daily basis are no longer hiding themselves. Previously, Sunni leaders pointed to Mahdi Army and Badr militiamen as the perpetrators. Now, death squads are composed of the US-recruited Sahwa fighters and policemen.

On September 6, 2008, news reports mentioned the killing of nine Iraqis who were arrested by Al-Muthanna Brigade of the Iraqi Army stationed in the city of Al-Falloujah. There corpses were found with bullets shot on their heads and chests. This incident is evidence that the sectarian-based Iraqi forces have been functioning also as death squads, which killed Iraqis for suspicion of belonging to resistance organizations, without any legal procedures or trials.

Despite the fact that there are scores of organizations involved in the Iraq war, the Iraqi government officials prefer to refer to them as Alqaeda gunmen for propaganda purposes, as mentioned in the June 4, 2008 news report. For accuracy purposes, the term "Alqaeda gunmen" may be replaced with "Iraqi fighters."

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24 killed, 21 wounded in Iraq violence until Saturday afternoon

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Saturday , 13 /09 /2008 Time 10:20:03
BAGHDAD, Sept. 13 (VOI) –

Twenty-four people were killed and 21 others wounded in acts of violence in different areas of Iraq during the period between Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, according to security sources.

In Baghdad, the Iraqi police told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI) an improvised explosive device went off on Saturday while a police patrol was passing by in Jisr al-Salam area, al-Dora district, southern Baghdad, wounding four policemen.

Police said that three civilians were killed and five others wounded when an improvised explosive device, the third of its kind to detonate in the Iraqi capital on Saturday, went off in the area of Kemp Sara, southern Baghdad.

A security source said that four civilians were wounded on Saturday when an IED went off in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of al-Waziriya.

In Mosul city, a police source said security forces in Ninewa province found the bodies of four al-Sharqiya TV station staff who had been kidnapped earlier on Saturday by unidentified gunmen in the western part of the city.

In Basra, southern Iraq, the province's police media office said a British patrol came under an explosive attack near al-Andalus fuel station in the northern part of the city, wounding only one civilian passer-by but no casualties or losses were reported on the British patrol.

This is the second time in less than a week an MNF patrol comes under an IED attack. The first one occurred five days ago, targeting a patrol on Baghdad street near the area of al-Jamiyat, western Basra, wounding one civilian and left no casualties on the MNF patrol side.

A police source from Basra said that a civilian was killed at a late hour of Friday and three others, including a traffic policeman, wounded when an Iraqi soldier opened random fire from his rifle in Abu al-Khaseeb souk (market), southern Basra.

Col. Abbas al-Temimi told VOI that a soldier unintentionally pressed the trigger of his rifle while he was with his unit on a search and raid mission in the area, killing one civilian and wounding three others. The soldier is now under investigative custody, Temimi added.

In Mosul, an official Iraqi army source said unidentified gunmen opened fire at a civilian on Friday evening near his home in eastern Mosul, killing him instantly before they escaped to an unknown place.
The same source said that two civilians were wounded on Friday evening when an IED went of in al-Shohadaa neighborhood, eastern Mosul, while an Iraqi army patrol was passing by.

In Kirkuk, 250 km northeast of Baghdad, a police source said that unidentified gunmen boarding a civilian vehicle opened fire at a local resident, the owner of a real estate office, in 1 Azar neighborhood, southwestern Kirkuk, killing him instantly.

In Diala, 57 km northeast of Baghdad, the mayor of Khanaqin said the death toll from Saturday's earlier IED blast that targeted a Kurdish Peshmerga force patrol in Naudaman, in the southern part of the district, rose to nine, including one high-ranking officer, and the wounded to two.

AmR (I)

News Summary

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Saturday , 13 /09 /2008 Time 10:20:03
BAGHDAD, Sept. 13 (VOI) –

Following is a summary of news reports posted until 04:00 p.m. Baghdad local time Saturday:

*Politics & Security:

KIRKUK, The head of a Salah al-Din municipal council survived an assassination attempt when a sticky explosive charge detonated near his house in Sulaiman Bik district, a police source said on Saturday.

DIALA, Police forces on Saturday arrested a leader of the so-called 'Popular Committees' during a military operation in downtown Baaquba city, a security source said.

KIRKUK, Unknown gunmen on Saturday killed a civilian in southwestern Kirkuk city, a local police source said.

DIALA, Nine members of the Peshmerga, or armed Kurdish fighters, on Saturday were killed or wounded in an explosive charge attack that targeted their patrol vehicle in southern Khanaqin district.

BASRA, A civilian was killed and three other persons were wounded in southern Basra when an Iraqi soldier fired at them, a police media source said.

DIALA, Casualties from the blast that targeted a group of Peshmerga forces earlier today in southern Khanaqin district have reached 11, the district's mayor said on Saturday.

BAGHDAD, Several people were killed or injured in an explosive charge attack that ripped through downtown Baghdad on Saturday, according to eyewitnesses.

BAGHDAD, Four policemen were wounded on Saturday when an improvised explosive device targeted their patrol vehicle in southern Baghdad, the Iraqi police said.

MISSAN, Policemen arrested four men wanted on criminal charges in different areas of Missan province on Saturday, an official security source said.

BAGHDAD, Three civilians were killed and five others wounded when an improvised explosive device, the third of its kind to detonate in the Iraqi capital on Saturday, went off in the area of Kemp Sara, southern Baghdad, police said.

NINEWA, Security forces in Ninewa found the bodies of four al-Sharqiya TV station staff who had been kidnapped earlier on Saturday by unidentified gunmen in western Mosul, a police source in the province said.

BAGHDAD, Four civilians were wounded on Saturday when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of al-Waziriya, the Iraqi police said.

BAGHDAD, Twenty-four people were killed and 21 others wounded in acts of violence in different areas of Iraq during the period between Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, according to security sources.

AmR (R)

Duajil blast casualties up to 75

Salah al-Din - Voices of Iraq
Saturday , 13 /09 /2008 Time 10:20:03
SALAH AL-DIN, Sept. 12 (VOI) –

Casualties from Friday's earlier suicide car bomb attack rose to 30 deaths and 45 wounded, an Iraqi police source said.

"The death toll of the car bomb attack in central al-Dujail district rose to 30 and the wounded to 45, including 12 in a serious condition," the source, who declined to have his name mentioned, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

"The majority of the victims were civilians, while the police losses were one death and six injured," the source said, adding the number of casualties was high due to the crowdedness before the iftar (fast-breaking meal in Ramadan) and the fact that the police department, which was the target of the attack, lies in the heart of the main souk (market) in the district.

Earlier in the day, a police source said the attack left more than 27 people killed and more than 40 others wounded.

"A suicide bomber detonated his explosive vehicle off al-Dujail police department building, killing 27 people and injuring 40 others," a police source told VOI, noting the casualties are most likely to rise.
"Most of the victims were civilians with only a few policemen thanks to the concrete fortifications around the building," the source said, adding the blast set ablaze several nearby civilian cars and destroyed buildings and stores close to the department.

Dujail, a district south of Salah al-Din province, lies 60 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
Salah al-Din has an area of 24,751 square kilometers (9,556.4 sq mi). The estimated population for 2003 was 2,146,500 people.

AmR (S)

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