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Transfer of sovereignty in six weeks says bremer Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=BB07FD2A-984C-438F-B6542094678ADFABhttp://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=BB07FD2A-984C-438F-B6542094678ADFAB
Bremer: Transfer of Sovereignty on Track
VOA News
18 May 2004, 17:41 UTC
U.S. civilian administrator for Iraq Paul Bremer says the transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30th will go forward, despite attempts by terrorists to derail the process.
Mr. Bremer made the remarks earlier Tuesday in Baghdad at a memorial service for the president of the Iraqi Governing Council, Izzidin Salim, who was killed along with six others in a suicide bombing Monday.
At a coalition news conference, U.S. General Mark Kimmitt said initial speculation that Monday's attack was the work of al-Qaida linked terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi may be premature. He said some forensic evidence collected at the site might indicate it was the work of a different group.
A previously unknown group, The Arab Resistance Movement - Rashid Brigades, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Elsewhere, sporadic fighting continued overnight between coalition forces and fighters loyal to radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. General Kimmitt said one militiaman was killed in clashes in Karbala, and there were some incidents in Najaf and Nassariyah.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who is one of Iraq's most influential Shi'ite leaders, has called on both sides to withdraw from the holy cities. He also urged Shi'ites not to go to Karbala or Najaf, but to hold rallies in their own towns to protest what he called the lack of respect for religious sites there.
In Baghdad, General Kimmitt denied media reports that four arrests had been made in the beheading of American Nick Berg.
And in Mosul, in northern Iraq, the U.S. military says a foreigner working for a private security company has been killed in a drive-by shooting.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AFP.
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