Security Summary: May 8, 2007

A girl stands in line with her mother as they wait for food rations today in Sadr City.

Baghdad- At least five civilians were wounded on Tuesday when an explosive charge went off near an Iraqi army vehicle patrol in northeastern Baghdad, a police source said.

Mosul-Unknown gunmen on Tuesday shot and killed a police officer near Mosul city, 402 km north of Baghdad, while an armed group kidnapped director of the state-owned-water supply company in the city, a security source said.

Baghdad- At least a civilian was killed and three others were wounded on Tuesday when a car bomb detonated inside a petrol station in al-Zaafaraniya neighborhood, southeastern Baghdad, a security source said.

Basra- Body of a kidnapped university professor was found on Tuesday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, an official source said.

Kirkuk- Two Iraqi policemen were wounded on Tuesday when an explosive charge went off near their patrol vehicle in southern Kirkuk, 250 km northeast of Baghdad, a police source said.

Diala- Unknown gunmen kidnapped on Tuesday some 30 civilians in Diala province, 57 km northeast of Baghdad, after they positioned a fake checkpoint on the main road to Baghdad, eyewitnesses said.

Basra- Iraqi police forces on Tuesday freed a U.S. citizen of Iraqi origin, who was kidnapped ten days ago in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, a police source said.

Baghdad- Iraqi security forces killed two gunmen and arrested 27 suspected militants in several areas in Baghdad, during the past 24 hours, under the Baghdad law-imposing plan, the Baghdad operations command said on Tuesday.

Diala- A U.S. chopper shelled on Tuesday a primary school in Mindli town, killing seven students and injuring three others, eyewitnesses and medical sources said.

Baghdad- Four bodies of kidnapped Higher Education Ministry's employees were found in Baghdad on Tuesday, including three of the bodies belonged to bodyguards of the minister, a source in the ministry said.

Basra – Two civilians were wounded when British forces opened fire at them in two separate incidents, a security source in Basra police said.

Hit – The police in Hit, Anbar province, imposed a curfew on vehicles in the city as of Tuesday morning until further notice, declining to mention reasons for such a measure, local residents said.

Falluja – Unidentified gunmen blew up three cell phone towers in the city of Falluja, Anbar province, an Iraqi police source said.

Baghdad – A car bomb went off inside a gas station in al-Zaafaraniya district, southeastern Baghdad, an Iraqi police source said.

Falluja – Five bodies of members of the Anbar Rescue Council were found by policemen in Falluja, the largest city in the Sunni province of al-Anbar, a security source said.

Diala – Three Iraqi policemen were killed and 11 others wounded when a suicide bomber blew up his explosive belt near the Jalawlaa police station in the province of Diala, an official Iraqi police source said.

Najaf – Sixteen people were killed and 70 others wounded when an explosive vehicle ripped through the al-Shahrestani square in eastern Najaf, the health chief in the holy Shiite city said.

Baghdad – Security forces in charge of Baghdad's green zone sealed off all entrances to the central Baghdad area as routine security measures, a media source from the Iraqi cabinet said.

Basra – The Multi-National Force (MNF) in southern Iraq said it wounded two gunmen and arrested 11 suspects in three separate operations in areas in the southern Iraqi province of Basra.

From VOI