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Iraq blast kills 10 shiite leader delay parliament Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
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Iraq Blast Kills 10; More Political Delays
Car Bombing in Najaf Kills 10; Shiite Leaders Oppose Convening Parliament to Deal With Jaafari
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN
The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq Apr 6, 2006 (AP)—
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A car bomb exploded Thursday in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, killing at least 10 people and threatening to heighten sectarian tensions. Shiite politicians also blocked a bid to have parliament try to break the deadlock on forming a new government.
Elsewhere, the U.S. military announced the arrest of a top insurgent leader believed to have been responsible for last year's kidnapping of Italian journalist Guiliana Sgrena.
Some 30 people were wounded in the Najaf car bombing, which occurred about 300 yards from the Imam Ali shrine, police chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Miadal said. The shrine is among the world's most sacred Shiite sites and contains the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law, Imam Ali.
Dr. Essa Mohammed, director of the Najaf morgue, said 10 people were killed, including four women.
Such attacks are rare in Najaf, which is tightly controlled by police and Shiite security guards, and are seen by Shiites as a grave provocation because of the city's stature.
The bombing Feb. 22 of the golden dome of a Shiite shrine in Samarra triggered a wave of reprisal attacks against Sunni mosques and clerics, plunging the country to the brink of civil war.
The bomb Thursday exploded on a street that leads to Najaf's massive cemetery. The route is often used for funeral processions by Shiites from throughout the country who come to Najaf to bury their dead.
Iraqi forces sealed off the city center and ordered people to leave the area, fearing more bombs.
U.S. officials believe the best way to ease sectarian tensions and avoid civil war is for Iraqis to form a government of national unity following December elections. Talks among Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish parties have stalled in recent weeks, however, in large part because of opposition to the Shiite decision to nominate Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari for a second term.
Al-Jaafari has refused to step aside, despite pressure from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw who personally urged the Iraqis to break the logjam during a two-day visit earlier this week.
"Position doesn't mean anything to me," al-Jaafari told reporters Thursday. "So I have no hesitation in giving up this position, but the question is who is the one to decide? If my people decide I will obey. If the parliament agreed in the legal way for me to step aside, I will. The people elected this parliament, so whatever they say I will do it."
Sunni and Kurdish officials had suggested parliament convene Wednesday to decide al-Jaafari's fate. But representatives of the seven factions in the Shiite alliance met Thursday and decided to delay next week's session until all Iraqi parties agree on nominees for other posts, such as president and speaker of parliament, prominent Shiite politician Khalid al-Attiyah said.
Al-Attiyah said the deadlock had become "very complicated" and al-Jaafari's supporters within the alliance want to ask the advice of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the country's most respected Shiite cleric, before deciding their next move.
Al-Attiyah said other Shiite politicians who are not affiliated with the major Shiite parties also have agreed to seek al-Sistani's opinion.
Turning to al-Sistani shows the inability of the Shiite alliance to resolve the standoff, with many Shiite politicians fearing that a move to force out al-Jaafari would splinter their alliance.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military said in a statement that the insurgent leader believed to be behind Sgrena's kidnapping, Mohammed Hila Hammad Obeidi, was arrested last month south of Baghdad, but the announcement was delayed until DNA tests confirmed his identity.
Obeidi, also known as Abu Ayman, was an aide to the chief of staff of intelligence under Saddam Hussein and allegedly commanded the Secret Islamic Army in Babil province south of Baghdad. His alleged lieutenant, Syrian-born Abu Qatada, was captured by troops Dec. 27 and has "provided valuable information on the Abu Ayman terror network," the statement said.
Sgrena was freed after a month's captivity. The Italian agent who secured her release was killed by U.S. gunfire as they were heading to Baghdad airport on March 4, 2005.
Obeidi was also believed to have masterminded other kidnappings and assassinations.
Two prominent Sunni Arab politicians Khalaf al-Ilyan, head of the National Dialogue Council, and Saleh al-Mutlaq also said Thursday that close relatives had gone missing.
Al-Ilyan blamed al-Qaida in Iraq for trying to frighten them into abandoning their roles in government.
"Al-Qaida in Iraq is behind this to put pressures on us to quit the political process as they previously threatened us not to take part in it," al-Ilyan told The Associated Press.
In other violence Thursday:
Roadside bombs targeted police and army patrols in Baghdad and Baqouba, killing at least two Iraqi forces and wounding 18 people, including civilians.
A roadside bomb targeted a U.S. patrol in Ramadi Thursday, according to the U.S. military. No casualties were reported.
Gunmen in three cars ambushed five Shiite truck drivers on their way to the capital from the town of Mahawil, killing all of them and stealing their trucks.
Police discovered a headless body they believe belonged to a Kurdish man kidnapped the previous night in the northern city of Kirkuk.
Police found four corpses of men in their 20s, handcuffed and blindfolded, in Baghdad's southern Dora district.
Associated Press writers Vanessa Arrington and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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