Spate of violence, arrests in Iraq

Nov 29,2007 00:00 by UPI
BAGHDAD -- A spate of bombings and U.S.-led coalition counterinsurgency arrests were reported throughout Iraq on Thursday.

A raid targeting an unidentified Shiite extremist north of Baghdad resulted in the deaths of two armed militants and the arrests of five others, a U.S. military statement said.

Raids in Tarmiya, north of Samarra, Hawija, and Baiji also netted 12 al-Qaida insurgent suspects, CNN reported.

In Karbala, police chief Maj. Shaker Jawdat announced police had found a cache of about 1,000 weapons, explosives and missiles, Alsumaria reported.

The Iraqi Interior Ministry reported two roadside bombs exploded in Baghdad, killing one civilian and wounding 12 others.

In Baquba, a woman wearing an explosives belt blew herself up, wounding seven U.S. soldiers and five civilians, Alsumaria said.

The U.S. military also reported an unmanned MQ-1 Predator reconnaissance aircraft crashed in an unspecified unpopulated area and said an investigation had been launched to determine a cause of the wreck.