Iraq Press Roundup

Al Itihad newspaper reported Wednesday that Iraqi police announced Tuesday two car-bomb explosions in Baghdad.

"Nine people were killed and 28 others were wounded in the two explosions," the paper said.

Police in Mosul said insurgents killed an Iraqi solider, and two bodies were found.

The U.S. Army announced the arrest of 12 suspected terrorists in operations in Baghdad Monday. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Interior Ministry announced that over the past 24 hours, 11 bodies were found in different parts of Baghdad.

In Fallujah, police said they arrested 14 people suspected to be linked to al-Qaida. In Baqouba, a medical source said Tuesday eight bodies were received from different parts of Diyala province. In Basra, police announced three missiles hit two residential districts, destroying some buildings.

In Khaneqeen, Diyala province, a security source said an IED exploded Tuesday in front of the police station, killing two civilians and wounding 13 others. And in Babil, south of Baghdad, a man was killed and his son wounded when insurgents opened fire on them in front of their house.

Meanwhile, the High Judicial Council ordered the release of 4,070 prisoners since the start of the security plan in February both from U.S. and Iraqi prisons. The paper also reported that Iraqi and U.S. soldiers arrested a top member of al-Qaida in Iraq.

"Abu Gazwaan, the al-Qaida member, is accused of carrying out attacks against the Iraqi army and police north of Baghdad," the paper said.

The Kurdish Al Ahali newspaper carried a report Wednesday with the headline: "Blackwater: Between providing security and committing crimes."

The paper reported Blackwater signed contracts worth millions of dollars with the U.S. Defense Department when U.S. forces entered Iraq.

It said Blackwater’s workers were known to be “cruel and hateful.”

"They open random fire at pedestrians and cars that come close to their convoys," it said.

The paper also said Blackwater workers were irresponsible.

"They don't take anyone into consideration except their employers," the paper commented.

Shebab Al Iraq newspaper reported Wednesday that a car-bomb explosion targeted a U.S. convoy east of Mosul.

The report, citing Nineveh’s police chief, said the explosion resulted in the wounding of two civilians and damaging a number of shops and buildings in the area.

"The U.S. troops surrounded the area and it is not known if there were casualties on their side," the paper said.