Monday: 43 Iraqis Killed, 114 Wounded

Updated at 12:25 a.m. EDT, June 23, 2009

A surge in bombings intensified in the Baghdad area. At least 43 Iraqis were killed and 114 more were wounded there and across the country. Three U.S. soldiers were also wounded and two more were possibly killed during a bombing in Abu Ghraib. Back in the U.S., an Army chaplain who was gravely wounded in Iraq in 2004 has died; the cause of death was not released, but the chaplain was still receiving care for his injuries.

In Baghdad, an explosion in the Shabb/Ur area killed three people and wounded 30 others; police safely detonated a second bomb. Five people were killed and 20 were wounded at a checkpoint leading to the Green Zone from Karrada. Three people were killed and 13 more were wounded when a bomb blasted a schoolbus in the Habbibiya area. A second bomb in Habbibiya wounded three more people. 

Seven people were killed and 13 more were wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the Abu Ghraib municipal office. Three U.S. soldiers were also wounded in the attack. KUNA reports that two U.S. soldiers were killed as well, but this has not been confirmed yet.

A bomb exploded at a Husseiniyah marketplace, killing five people and wounding 22 others.

Gunmen attacked an Awakening Council (Sahwa) checkpoint in Riyadh, killing one Sahwa fighter and injuring two more. The fighters gave chase, killing one gunman and wounding two others. The gunmen may have triggered a roadside bomb when they fled.

In Mosul, gunmen stormed a home and killed a woman. Two soldiers were killed in a drive-by shooting on their checkpoint. Gunmen killed two policemen. A dumped body was discovered. Gunmen killed two more people in other violence. Also, a hand grenade attack left one dead and five wounded.

A bomb blast near Baquba in Khan Nafet killed three security personnel working for the oil ministry.

Three family members were killed during a drive-by shooting in Khanaqin.

The body of a kidnapped policeman was discovered in Anbar province.

A pair of bombs in Amiriyat al-Fallujah wounded four policemen.

In Khalis, a recently released al-Qaeda member was assassinated.

A girl was liberated in Kut just an hour after she was kidnapped. Her kidnapper was arrested.

Rescuers in Taza are still looking for people trapped in the rubble of Saturday’s bombing. Twelve people remain unaccounted for.

Eight suspects were detained across Karbala province. Ammunition and weapons were also seized.

Nine suspects were captured in Basra province. Unlicensed vehicles and weapons were also discovered.

An al-Qaeda leader was arrested in Suwayra.

U.S. forces released nine detainees in Fallujah.

Also, Turkey arrested 23 people, including leaders of a pro-Kurd political party (possibly the PKK.)

Author: Margaret Griffis
