Some 26 people are now reported dead in Mosul, Iraq, after a suicide bomber drove into an army patrol, UPI quoted a security source as saying. The dead included 22 soldiers and four civilians, The New York Times reported. The attack came during a particularly violent two weeks in Iraq since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. Since the beginning of Ramadan, more than 250 people have been killed, including at least 84 who died Saturday and Sunday. Twenty-nine deaths were reported in attacks on two Baghdad prisons. Eight security force members and 21 prisoners died Sunday after attacks on the Abu Ghraib and Taji prisons. Unconfirmed local reports said about 100 prisoners escaped from Abu Ghraib in the attack. The United Nations envoy in Iraq Sunday condemned the recent wave of violence in Iraq. "These criminal acts targeting Muslims praying in mosques or gathering after breaking their fast are senseless. The holy month of Ramadan should be a time for spirituality and forgiveness, instead of increasing violence and division," said Martin Kobler, the special representative of the secretary-general and head of the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq "I am deeply saddened that my last words as the [special representative] for Iraq have to be linked to violence and criminal acts," he added. "I call on all Iraqis not to let violence prevail and to work together toward peace and dialogue, the only sustainable solution."
