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Car bomb kills five { May 22 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47106-2004May22.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47106-2004May22.html
Car Bomb in Iraq Kills Five
Security Official Wounded in Baghdad Blast
By Jackie Spinner and Naseer Nouri
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, May 22, 2004; 7:46 AM
BAGHDAD, May 22 -- A car bomb exploded outside the home of a top Iraqi security official Saturday morning, wounding the man and his wife and killing at least five people, police and witnesses said.
The bomb collapsed part of the house of Abdul-Jabbar Youssef al-Sheikhli, a deputy minister in Iraq's interior ministry, which is responsible for police and security. Neighbors said Sheikhli had just moved into the quiet, middle-class Baladiat neighborhood three months ago because he thought it would be safer.
The bomb blast was the second in a week to target a top Iraqi government official. A suicide car bombing on Monday killed Iraqi Governing Council President Izzadine Saleem outside the fortified headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition.
Just weeks remain before the scheduled transition from complete U.S. rule to limited Iraqi authority. U.S. authorities have long predicted an intensification in insurgent activity as the June 30 turnover draws near.
Witnesses said the dead Saturday morning included an unidentified woman and at least four guards who were employed by the deputy minister. They said up to 10 people could have been killed. Eleven were injured, including the deputy minister and his wife, witnesses said. Family members who were in the house at the time of the explosion declined to comment.
Interior Minister Samir Shakir Mahmound Sumaidy called for an immediate investigation into the attack on his deputy. "It's a bad crime to go after a person responsible for the security of the people," Sumaidy said. "He wants to set the law. But it seems to be that those people do not like the law to be set. We must investigate and find out who did this and punish them."
Witnesses said they saw a white Caprice coming down the street in a zig-zag pattern and head toward the side of the two-story house. The explosion knocked out the windows of several houses nearby, flipped a vehicle into the air and shook an elementary school and high school nearby just as examinations were about to get underway. Three students inside the school were injured, witnesses said.
In the garden of the house, two vehicles were charred and destroyed. A pair of children's swings had melted from the heat of the blast. Blood splattered the brick walls, and neighbors found body parts in the gardens and yards.
Ameer Ali, 38, a government employee who lived next door, was taking his three nieces to school when the bomb exploded. He said they were sitting in the car, just about ready to pull into the street when he saw the white Caprice approach. All three girls were injured, he said.
"It's really a hard time these days," he said. "You cannot feel safe."
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
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