|
Two Baghdad blasts kill more than a dozen
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-20 08:39
Two near-simultaneous bombings targeted a crowded downtown Baghdad coffee
shop and a nearby restaurant Thursday, killing more than a dozen people.
The attacks came as a foreign assessment team reported evidence of fraud in
the Dec. 15 elections, but did not endorse calls for a rerun.
The bombings occurred despite government moves to heighten security as the
election commission prepares to announce the election results. The announcement,
which could come Friday, sets the stage for talks on a new national unity
government U.S. officials hope will help calm the insurgency and enable the
United States to begin withdrawing its 140,000 troops.
The first explosion occurred at a coffee shop on bustling Saadoun Street in
the heart of Baghdad. Seconds later, a blast caused by a planted bomb rocked a
restaurant just down the street.
Some officials said the first blast was triggered by a suicide attacker
wearing an explosive vest, while others insisted both were caused by bombs
detonated by remote control.
Locals pick through the damage from two bomb
attacks, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006, in Baghdad,
Iraq.[AP] | Officials variously reported the death toll between 13 and 25. Police Lt.
Osama Mohammed blamed the confusion on miscounting of bodies because the blast
sites were so close.
The explosions shattered shop windows and destroyed several cars. Wooden
tables and chairs were strewn over the bloodstained pavement as rescue workers
treated the wounded. Two men sobbed beside the bodies of two men covered with
bloodstained blankets outside the coffee shop.
The mother of abducted American Jill Carroll, meanwhile, appealed for her
daughter's release. Her captors have threatened to kill the journalist unless
U.S. authorities release all Iraqi women in military custody by Friday night.
Muslim leaders in Iraq and elsewhere joined in the appeal.
Mary Beth Carroll, speaking on CNN Thursday, said video images of her
daughter in captivity, aired by Al-Jazeera television, gave her hope she is
alive but also have "shaken us about her fate."
"I, her father and her sister are appealing directly to her captors to
release this young woman who has worked so hard to show the sufferings of Iraqis
to the world," the mother said.
The U.S. military has said eight Iraqi women are in military detention. An
Iraqi government commission reviewing detainee cases recommended to U.S.
authorities Monday that six of them be released.
Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim Ali said the six women would be freed
next week but "not part of any swap with any kidnappers."
However, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said no prisoner release
was imminent.
Thursday's blasts were part of a surge in violence in Iraq this week. U.S.
and Iraqi officials have predicted a spike in attacks when the election figures
are released.
Maj. Gen. Mahdi Sabih Hashim said Thursday that heightened security would be
in effect nationwide in the "coming days." He gave no details, but said
authorities intend to go after "terrorists deep in their hideouts."
Preliminary reports indicate an alliance of Shiite Muslim religious parties
won the most seats in the 275-member parliament but not enough to govern without
coalition partners, including Sunni Arabs and Kurds. The Shiite alliance
dominates the current government.
Final results have been withheld pending a report by a foreign assessment
team into allegations of fraud leveled by major Sunni Arab parties. On Thursday,
the team released its report saying it found numerous violations and indications
of fraud. But it did not call for a new vote, as some Sunnis had demanded.
The International Mission for Iraqi Elections praised the ability to hold
elections during a raging war and said there was an "urgent need ... for a
formation of a government of true national unity."
There was no official response from the Iraqi government. However, an
official in Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's office said the report "confirms
the fairness of the elections." He spoke on condition of anonymity because of
the sensitivity of the issue.
Sunni politician Saleh al-Mutlaq, an outspoken critic of the December
balloting, said the report was contradictory because it cited irregularities
"but then says the election commission was not prepared for this kind of a job."
Officials said the first announcement of results would be limited to contests
for 230 seats chosen by district. The other 45 seats are to be allocated under a
complicated formula designed to enable small parties to enter the legislature
based on the number of votes they received nationwide. It was unclear when
distribution of those seats would be announced.
After election results are announced, the parliament must choose a new
government, including a president, prime minister and Cabinet. The United States
hopes an inclusive government can win the trust of Sunni Arabs, which make up
the backbone of the insurgency.
However, Iraq's most powerful Shiite politician predicted Sunni Arab
participation alone will not be enough to persuade Islamic extremists and Saddam
Hussein loyalists to abandon the insurgency.
Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, head of the country's largest Shiite party, said in an
interview with The Associated Press that Sunni Arabs, who dominated political
life for generations, must accept the "new reality" in Iraq.
"Every day we are getting closer to accepting this reality. But there are
some groups that will not accept this," al-Hakim said, citing religious
extremists and Saddam loyalists. "Those people will continue confronting the
government. ... Those people should be confronted firmly by the
government."
|
