Updated at 9:00 p.m. EST, Feb. 15, 2009
At least seven Iraqis
were killed and 35 more were wounded in the latest round of violence. Another
18 victims were found in new mass graves. Two U.S. soldiers were killed
as well. Meanwhile, the Iraqi election commission concluded that some fraud took
place in last month's elections, but not enough to hold new ones. Also, pilgrims
are still piling in to Karbala in the final hours of Arbaeen observances.
A
U.S.
soldier was killed in a roadside bomb blast today in southern Iraq, while
a U.S. soldier died
in a non-combat incident yesterday.
The Iraqi election commission admitted
that fraud took place in over 30 polling stations across the country. Those results
were nullified, but no new elections will take place. The election will be certified
this week, when official results are announced. Preliminary estimates show that
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's list surged ahead of conservative religious parties.
Meanwhile, Kurdish officials played
down reports of a dispute among Patriotic Union of Kurdistan members.
Tens of thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims continued
to visit the holy city of Karbala despite an escalation of violence this week.
Arbaeen ends early Monday, but the violence towards pilgrims could continue as
they head home. Iraqi officials said that millions have visited the city in the
last few days. Arbaeen marks the end of 40 days of mourning following Ashoura,
the holiday that commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein. The Imam is buried
in Karbala near where he was killed. His death ignited the schism between Shi'ites
and Sunnis, so the holidays are magnets for sectarian violence.
The Iraqi
army found 10
skeletons in a mass grave in Taji. The grave dates to 2006 when sectarian
violence surged. Although many dumped bodies were discovered then, many more people
were kidnapped and never heard from again. A day earlier, police found
40 bodies in a nearby grave.
Eight
bodies were found near Baquba in Albu Tima village.
In Baghdad,
a roadside bomb injured
three people in Talbiyah. Five mortars struck Adhamiya, but
no casualties were
reported. No casualties
were reported when a mortar also hit the Jihad neighborhood.
One
person was killed and 19 others were wounded when a bomb exploded from within
a garbage pile in Sadr City. A separate bomb wounded
two more people. Also, Baghdad Operations Command said
joint U.S-Iraqi forces safely detonated at least five bombs overnight. A sixth
explosion was unaccounted for.
In Mosul, gunmen killed
a civilian and an off-duty soldier in separate incidents. A bomb planted on
a car wounded
a member of the Sunni Hadba party. A hand grenade lobbed at a police patrol
wounded
three civilians instead. A roadside bomb wounded
a policeman. A soldier
was wounded in another roadside bombing. Six suspects were captured.
Also, police discovered a suspected
al-Qaeda prison, where torture and executions are believed to have taken place.
Gunmen
killed two policemen
and wounded two others in Muqdadiyah.
One
person was killed and three more were wounded during a blast in Mandali.
Gunmen killed
a man who was recently released from Camp Bucca prison.
Fallujah
Police captured
an al-Qaeda suspect believed to be responsible for the deaths of 15 people, including
an imam. A weapons depot was seized.
A new crackdown in Basra netted
32 suspects.
Two suspects were captured
near Karbala.
Ten suspects were detained across Diyala province.
Fourteen suspects were captured in Missan province. A hostage was
freed.
Security personnel
in Kirkuk detained a
suspected revolutionary group leader.
A suspect accused
of killing three officers was captured near Tikrit.
Four were arrested
on charges of terrorism in Dhi Qar.
Compiled by Margaret Griffis