Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Iraq

Factbox - Security developments in Iraq, 31 Jan 2008

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 2000 GMT on Thursday.

* denotes new or updated item.

BAGHDAD - One U.S. soldier was killed when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb during combat operations in Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

BAGHDAD - Two bodies were found in different areas of Baghdad on Thursday, police said.

BAGHDAD - Three people were killed and six wounded when a bomb in a parked car exploded near Salahaddin Square in Kadhimiya, a Shi'ite district in northwestern Baghdad, police said.

MOSUL - Gunmen kidnapped five university students in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - Three of Iraq's deputy electricity minister Salam al-Qazaz's bodyguards were wounded when their convoy was hit by two roadside bombs in Baghdad's eastern Palestine Street district, police said. Qazaz was not in the convoy. A civilian was also wounded, police said.

BAGHDAD - Three policemen and three civilians were killed by a roadside bomb targeting a police patrol in the Zayouna district of eastern Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb wounded two civilians in central Baghdad's Karrada district, police said.

KHALIS - A suspected al Qaeda cell leader was killed in a raid on his house in the town of Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraqi police said.

BAQUBA - The U.S. military said it had detained the Diyala province health minister in a raid on Tuesday. Three other suspects were also detained in the raid in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad. Propaganda and munitions were also found, the military said.

MOSUL - The bodies of two people were found in different areas of Mosul on Wednesday, police said. Both had been shot.

* BASRA - Militants fired a barrage of about two dozen rockets into the British base at Basra airport, British military spokesman Matt Wells said. One Iraqi was killed and five wounded when British forces responded with artillery, he said. Three British soldiers were treated for shock. Basra, the hub for most of Iraq's oil exports, is 550 km (340 miles) south of Baghdad.

SULAIMAN PEK - A severed head was found in the town of Sulaiman Pek, 160 km (100 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.