The glee came in addition -- or in spite of -- ongoing violence. With 5 days left in the month, it's very likely the death toll will reach 1,000 for the month.
Already, Iraq Body Count counts 874 violent deaths so far this month through yesterday. The press reports at least 30 deaths and 16 people injured. So that's over 900 and there will be five days left in the month. Already, the month's death toll is so great you have to drop back to 2007 to find an October more violent.
National Iraqi News Agency reports a Shirqat car bombing claimed the lives of 1 police officer and 7 of his family members while injuring nine more, a Dujail roadside bombing claimed 2 lives (one was a police officer), a Yathrib roadside bombing claimed the life of 1 Sahwa and left two more injured, men in Iraqi military uniforms kidnapped a tribal Sheikh and his companions in Basra, a Ttash roadside bombing left two police officers injured, a home invasion "south of Baghdad" left 1 "commander of Sahwa, his wife and four of his sons, one of his bodyguards" dead, 1 gold shop owner was shot dead in Mosul as he was headed to noon prayer, and a Rifai roadside bombing left 3 police officers dead and two more injured. Alsumaria adds that 1 Sahwa leader and 2 of his sons were shot dead near Samarra, 1 Iraqi soldier was shot dead in Mosul, a Baiji roadside bombing claimed the lives of 3 Iraqi soldiers and left a fourth injured, 1 Iraqi soldier was shot dead at a Hermat checkpoint,
Meanwhile, Nouri's had another one of his 'brilliant' ideas. Traffic is bad in Baghdad -- made worse by checkpoints. Alsumaria reports that to relieve traffic congestion, the answer is tunnels and they have a photo of a partially underground tunnel. Yeah, who wouldn't love to be in an underground tunnel when a bomb goes off? Nouri's 'plan' also comes with another name "instant burial."
In other news, NINA reports independent Kurdish MP Mahmoud Othman is saying that the voting law must be passed by November 15h, before Parliament goes on holiday. Othman makes no mention of his last offering -- the one that predicted the law would already be passed. All Iraq News notes Kurdish MP Nasrin Anwar says that she does not believe KRG President Massoud Barzani will agree to use the previous election law, as Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi has proposed as an alternative. All Iraq News also notes Barzani and al-Nujaifi met today.
The following community sites -- plus Cindy Sheehan, Jody Watley, Susan's On the Edge, Pacifica Evening News, Latino USA, Antiwar.com and the ACLU -- updated last night and today:
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
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