Thousands of Kurdish Iraqis gathered in Khanaqin today to demand the right to fly the Kurdish flag in their city. Earlier this week, they learned of a central government order to remove the flags, which fly everywhere, even at local government buildings. As many as 20,000 protestors were reported at today’s gathering. At least one man was injured during the demonstrations after he set himself on fire.

Baghdad suffered a string of bomb and small arms attacks today, killing at least 30 people and wounding 88 others, not including the bombers. Many of the victims were police personnel, who were the targets of the two most significant attacks. The violence also appeared focused on Shi’ite neighborhoods. There were no immediate claims of responsibility, but two months ago al-Qaeda in Iraq, which is predominantly Sunni, vowed to carry out a spree that would total 100 attacks.

The U.S. State Department is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to the location of the senior leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq (A.Q.I.). As well as offering the bounty, the U.S. State Department also designated Abu Du’a as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.” The designation prohibits supporting Abu Du’a and freezes any assets he may have in the United States or comes under the control of U.S. persons.

As many as 20 people were killed when uniformed gunmen stormed a government complex in al-Baghdadi, which is 90 miles northwest of the capital, in Anbar province. Two suicide bombers triggered the attack at about 9:00 a.m., when they detonated their explosives. Other gunmen then followed and seized the complex until soldiers were able to retake it three hours later. Both civilians and police personnel were trapped during the occupation.