At least 45 people were killed across Iraq, and another 82 were wounded. The air strikes and clashes continued in rebel-controlled areas of western Iraq, while bombings and shootings terrified residents in central and northern Iraq.

In Anbar province, insurgents reportedly took over control of more areas today. At least five Iraqi soldiers were captured near Falluja, when gunmen attacked a checkpoint there. Witnesses said as many as 22 soldiers were taken prisoner, and five of them were seen in a video that has surfaced. Separately, a blast at a home killed a woman and her three children. Artillery or rocket fire left another three dead and 42 wounded, according to hospital officials. Security forces believe that about 80 percent of the population has fled Falluja. Meanwhile, three gunmen were killed in Ramadi.

In Baghdad, three dumped bodies were found separately. Four soldiers were shot dead at a checkpoint. A car bomb wounded seven people. Gunmen killed a former army officer and his wife at their home in Rashidiya. A sticky bomb killed a driver. Two civilians were killed in Sadr City.

Five people were killed and 14 more were wounded in Kirkuk during one of there car bombs that exploded there today.

A car bomb killed three people and wounded 13 more near Mushada.

Gunmen attacked a convoy in the al-Awadiya area where they killed three soldiers, including an officer, and wounded five more.

Two policemen were killed and another was wounded in a blast in Qayara.

Saidiya‘s mayor and his bodyguard were shot dead.

A roadside bomb in Abu Ghraib left two dead.

A civilian and his wife were killed during a home invasion in Husseiniya.

In Wajihiya, gunmen killed the head of the council and two other councilmen.

In Mosul, a sheikh was gunned down.