The violence comes as U.S. forces have launched new crackdowns across Iraq. More than 16,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops are taking part in Operation Lightning Hammer around the Diyala River. In Baghdad, at least two people were killed in a U.S.-led raid on the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City. The victims were reported to be a father and his three-year-old daughter, asleep in the summer heat on the roof of their home. Nine others were arrested, including the three sons of local resident Umm Falah.

Umm Falah: “I used to bake breads and sell it to feed them, and when they grew, they started to work to help me. We thought that we would be relieved when Saddam fell. We did not expect that he was replaced with the worst. Only God can beat them (the Americans).”