Two suicide bombers disguised as police infiltrated the heavily
fortified Interior Ministry compound in Baghdad and blew themselves
up Monday during celebrations of National Police Day, killing 29
Iraqis.
The attackers died before getting near the US ambassador and
senior Iraqi officials at the festivities, but the blasts capped a
particularly deadly week for American and Iraqi forces.
Iraqi police also were searching for an American journalist who
was kidnapped Saturday by gunmen who ambushed her car and killed
her translator in Baghdad.
Jill Carroll, a 28-year-old freelancer for The Christian Science
Monitor, was seized in Baghdad's predominantly Sunni Arab al-Adel
neighborhood. Police said she went there to see a Sunni Arab
politician.
The escalating violence after the Dec. 15 parliamentary
elections — at least 498 Iraqis and 54 US forces have been killed —
came as Iraq's electoral commission again delayed releasing the
results of the vote.
An Internet site known for publishing extremist material from
al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi carried a claim of
responsibility for Monday's suicide attack, saying it was in
revenge for the torture of Sunni Arab prisoners at two detention
facilities run by the Shiite-led Interior Ministry.
"The lions of al-Qaida in Iraq were able to conduct a new raid
on the Interior Ministry, taking revenge for Allah's religion and
the Sunnis, who are being tortured in the ministry's cellars," the
statement said.
The claim, which could not be independently verified, referred
to reports that more than 100 abused prisoners were recently found
in the jails — bolstering complaints by Sunni Arabs about the
treatment of detainees by Interior Ministry forces.
Another purported al-Zarqawi statement rebuked Sunni Arabs for
participating in the parliamentary elections, saying they had
"thrown a rope" to save US policy.
Meanwhile, the US military said eight US troops and four
American civilians died aboard a US Army Black Hawk helicopter that
crashed Saturday in northern Iraq. The military initially said only
that eight passengers and four crew were aboard.
Sunni Arabs also expressed anger over a raid Sunday by US troops
on the Umm al-Qura mosque, Baghdad headquarters of the Association
of Muslim Scholars, a Sunni clerical group that is believed to have
ties to some insurgent groups.
The mosque is in the al-Adel neighborhood, one of Baghdad's
roughest and the same area where the American journalist was
kidnapped.
A US military official, speaking on condition of anonymity
because of the sensitivity of the situation, said the raid was a
necessary immediate response to the kidnapping based on a tip
provided by an Iraqi citizen. The military said Sunday that six
people were detained. No other details were released.
"The violations of the occupation forces are continuing and they
are endless. The raid on the Um al-Qura mosque is the most recent
example," said Muthana Harith al-Dhari, a spokesman for the
clerical group.
The suicide attack on the sprawling Interior Ministry compound
came after a particularly deadly four-day period for Americans,
with 28 killed since Thursday, including 24 troops.
?
At least 498 Iraqis have been killed, including 355 civilians and
143 security forces, and 54 US troops have died since the Dec. 15
elections. With the latest military deaths, at least 2,207 US
service members have died since the war started in 2003, according
to an Associated Press count.
The bombs exploded in quick succession about 1,500 feet from the
parade being watched by US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, Interior
Minister Bayan Jabr, Defense Minister Sadoun al-Dulaimi and
hundreds of others.
None of the officials was hurt and the ceremony was not
interrupted, said Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a US military spokesman.
He said the explosions "had no impact on the ceremony and did not
require anybody to take cover."
The first bomber was shot by the police, but his explosives
detonated. A second bomber detonated his explosives. One bomber was
wearing the uniform of an Iraqi police major and the other was
dressed as a lieutenant colonel. Both had passes that enabled them
to get through checkpoints and into the compound.
In political developments, officials canceled a news conference
during which they had hoped to give out more preliminary election
results, saying they were still auditing returns from about 50
ballot boxes and wanted to announce everything at once.
Election results will be released after Eid al-Adha, said
Hussein Hindawi, of Iraq's electoral commission. It was the second
time they had postponed releasing information on the election —
which Sunni Arab groups said was tainted by fraud.
The results are expected to show the religious Shiite United
Iraqi Alliance with a strong lead. The Shiites will, however, need
to form a coalition government with support from Kurdish and Sunni
Arab political groups.
In other developments:
-Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum, who resigned as oil minister last week
over increases in consumer fuel prices, also resumed his old post
after the prime minister and president asked him to do so, Iraq's
Council of Ministers said.
-Gunmen assassinated an investigative judge in Kirkuk.
-Five bodies, bound and blindfolded, were found shot to death in
Baghdad late Sunday.
-A car bomb exploded west of Baqouba on Monday, killing two
civilians.
(Chinadaily.com via agencies January 10, 2006)
