WAR DEVELOPMENTS

Iraq

> A suicide car bombing struck a commercial district in Tal Afar, killing nine Iraqis and wounding 40, according to the U.S. military. Iraqi police and hospital officials said seven people were killed and up to 32 were wounded. There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.

> Two U.S. soldiers died when a helicopter made a “hard landing” after hitting wires in Mosul, the U.S. military said. It said the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter went down because of an accident and that there was no enemy fire in the area.

> A U.S. Marine died from wounds suffered in a roadside bombing west of Baghdad on Friday, the military said.

> At least 4,200 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

> A bomb in a parked car exploded near the National Theater in Baghdad, killing at least five and wounding 23, according to police and hospital officials. Some victims were heading to the theater to see a political satire, officials said. The U.S. military, however, said initial reports indicated no deaths but 19 civilians wounded.

> A suicide bomber in a vehicle in the northern city of Mosul injured 13 Iraqis.

> Tribal groups supporting Prime minister Nouri al-Maliki held demonstrations in cities across the country. The so-called tribal support councils, which al-Maliki has been organizing since early summer, are a mix of Sunni and Shiite tribes that support Iraq’s central government.

Afghanistan

> U.S. commanders in Afghanistan are requesting 3,300 more troops to accelerate the training of new Afghan army and police forces, a job seen as critical to defeating Afghanistan’s growing insurgency. Maj. Gen. Robert Cone, who heads the U.S. command in Kabul that trains Afghan forces, said last week that he has asked for 60 additional training teams —- a total of about 1,000 troops —- to help speed the expansion of the Afghan army.

> Coalition forces accidentally killed a civilian during a clash with insurgents in Zabul province. The civilian was killed when a grenade fired by coalition forces overshot its target, according to a U.S. military statement. The military issued a statement expressing regret and condolences to the family.

> Afghan and coalition forces captured an insurgent leader in eastern Ghazni province, the U.S. military said.

> Police thwarted a suicide attack in the eastern city of Khost on Saturday, officials said. Officers surrounded a suspect, who was on foot, and the man detonated the explosives on his body. The would-be attacker died, but no one else was injured.

> More than 5,400 people —- mostly militants —- have died in insurgency related violence this year in Afghanistan, according to an Associated Press tally.

Pakistan

> Militants fired a mortar shell into the village of Michni, just north of Peshawar, killing one soldier and wounding another.

> Police killed a suspected suicide bomber by firing a rocket at his explosives-filled car in the Shabqadar area north of Peshawar.