Explosions killed 11 people in Baghdad on Thursday and wounded at least 19 others according to local authorities. A debilitating dust storm also hit the city, making investigations into the blasts more difficult for police.
Interior Ministry Major Falah al-Mohammedawi indicated that all the dead were civilians. The largest single blast was aimed at an Iraqi army patrol in the Amariyah neighborhood of western Baghdad. Nine civilians were killed in that bombing and six others were wounded.
A car bomb was set off at Yarmouk Hospital in west Baghdad. Two civilians were killed as they entered the building. Another 13 people were injured according to local police.
Meanwhile, American and Iraqi government officials concluded that Wednesday's brash kidnapping of 50 people at a private security firm was committed by militiamen dressed to look like Interior Ministry commandos. Many of the men who were kidnapped were former military personnel under Saddam Hussein.
'We can confirm based on our investigation that individuals dressed like this, in chocolate-chip desert combat uniforms, riding in eight vehicles, drove up and kidnapped 50 local nationals,' U.S. military spokesman Major General Rick Lynch announced. 'We don't know who did that. In our conversations with Iraqi authorities, they don't know either.'
The U.S. military also announced the death of another Marine on Wednesday. The attack took place in Arbar province, bringing Wednesday's death toll of American troops to three. The total number of American troops killed in Iraq is now at 2,304 according to the count kept by the Associated Press.
