Security Summary: June 19, 2007

Above: Iraqi men 'detained' today in Baqubah, capital of Diyala province. Under emergency powers, arrest may be made upon suspicion, and no trial need ever be held, nor the detainees ever released.

BAGHDAD - A truck bomb killed at least 78 people and wounded 224 near the Shi'ite Khilani mosque in central Baghdad, police said. The mosque was badly damaged in the blast.

BAGHDAD - One U.S. soldier was killed and three wounded when their patrol was struck by a roadside bomb south of Baghdad on Monday, the U.S. military said.

DIYALA - One U.S. soldier was killed and two wounded by a roadside bomb attack near their vehicle while conducting operations in Diyala province, the U.S. military said.

BAQUBA - The U.S. military said it had killed 22 suspected militants in the early hours of a major offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq around Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, in Diyala province. The offensive involves 10,000 soldiers and is one of the military's biggest against the Sunni Islamist militant group in Iraq.

NASSIRIYA - Two days of fighting between gunmen loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Iraqi police have killed 35 people and wounded 125 in Nassiriya, south of Baghdad, a hospital doctor said.

BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army killed 15 suspected insurgents and arrested 65 others during the past 24 hours in different districts of Baghdad, the Defence Ministry said.

TAL AFAR - A woman and a child were killed by a mortar attack in the town of Tal Afar, 420 km (260 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

MOSUL - Gunmen killed a female student from the University of Mosul, north of Baghdad, police said.

NEAR BAQUBA - Gunmen attacked a Kurdish army unit and killed five soldiers and wounded 15 near Baquba on Monday, said Jabar Yawir, a spokesman for the Kurdish Peshmerga militia.

BAGHDAD - The bodies of 33 people were found shot in different districts of Baghdad on Monday, police said.

ISKANDARIYA - Two tribal leaders were killed and their driver wounded by a roadside bomb in the town of Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

From Reuters/Alternet