Iraq: At least 16 dead in bombings, shootings

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A suicide car bomber slammed into an Iraqi army patrol in the northern city of Mosul on Monday, killing seven people and wounding 28 others, police said. At least 16 people were killed in bombings and shootings across Iraq on Monday, mostly outside Baghdad. The violence came as Iraqi and American forces prepared a new military offensive to pacify the Iraqi capital by cleansing it of militiamen and other sectarian killers that threaten to divide the country. The biggest bombing occurred during evening rush hour in the al-Arabi neighborhood of Mosul, some 360 kilometers northwest of Baghdad. Two Iraqi soldiers were among the dead, and some houses and shops were damaged by the blast, said Ninevah police Brig. Abdul Karim al-Jubouri. Also in Mosul, two gasoline black market vendors were killed in a drive-by shooting, another police official said. The attackers tossed a leaflet saying they would punish anyone selling fuel on the black market, the official said on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.