Gorilla’s Guides

8 people including 2 green zone government policemen were killed by a bomb in the Diyala Bridge district in Southern Baghdad. 
The bomb was in the  Diyala Bridge area of the capital and led to the killing of 8 and the wounding of 13, including two police officers.

It was placed in a garbage sack close to a busy restaurant and timed for a time when there would be many commuters arriving or departing from the South. The location is also a departure point for those who want to get to the centre of the capital. Earlier this week Jisr Diyala saw another such bombing recently targeting day labourers who had gathered to seek work very close to the scent of this bombing. 

Other developments:

• 16 rockets were fired at the American base in Diwaniyah.
• Green zone government security forces detained a leader of Sadr’s office in Diwaniyah (there is a campaign against the Mahdi Army in Samawah.)
• The green zone government claim calm has returned to Basrah with little loss of life and property — this "news" comes as a considerable surprise to Gorilla’s Guides team members living there.

Reuters reports:

• BAGHDAD - U.S. forces said they killed two Shi’ite militiamen, including one wearing a suicide vest, during a raid north of Baghdad to capture a rogue leader of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mehdi Army.
• SALAHUDDIN PROVINCE - One U.S. soldier was killed by small arms fire during operations in Salahuddin province north of Baghdad, on Thursday, the U.S. military said.
• SUWAYRA - Two bodies with gunshot wounds and signs of torture were recoverd from the Tigris River in Suwayra, 60 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
• KUT - Gunmen killed a policeman in a drive by-shooting in central Kut, 170 km (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police said.