OMEN
06-04-2006, 12:16 PM
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BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen killed 19 people -- many of them high school students -- Sunday after dragging them off buses northeast of Baghdad. One person was wounded.
Serwan Shokir, the mayor Qara Tappah, said the incident occurred in the early morning after three mini buses left his town headed for Baqouba -- located 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.
He said the gunmen dragged 25 people from the buses, separated four Sunni Arabs in the group, and shot all the rest. The attack occurred as Iraq’s prime minister engaged in last minute negotiations with Sunni Arabs, Shiites and Kurds in an effort to find consensus on the ministers who will run the country’s armed forces and police.
The talks delayed a gathering of Iraq’s parliament for hours. The 275-legislature must vote on the candidates for the posts of defense, interior and minister of state for national security.
Filling the posts is seen as a key step toward Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s plan for Iraqi forces to take control of security from U.S.-led troops in 18 months. The positions have been temporarily staffed al-Maliki and one of his deputies since his government of national unity took office two weeks ago.
Al-Maliki had promised to name candidates Sunday despite a failure to agree with Iraq’s often fractious political parties, which are divided across ethnic and sectarian lines. The Shiite prime minister may present two candidates for each post.
“Meetings are still taking place, but no agreement has been achieved so far,” said Bahaa al-Araji, a Shiite legislator with the dominant United Iraqi Alliance.
Sunni Arabs have complained that negotiators for al-Maliki’s Shiite faction again rejected their candidates for defense minister. The Interior Ministry post will go to a Shiite and the Defense Ministry to a Sunni Arab in an effort to provide balance on security matters.
Russian diplomats kidnapped
There were conflicting reports Sunday over the fate of four Russian diplomats who were kidnapped in Baghdad.
An Interior Ministry spokesman on Sunday denied a report that four Russian hostages had been released the night before in a raid by Iraqi commandos. A senior ministry official Lt. Colonel Falah al-Mohamedawi said earlier that the Russian Embassy employees had been freed in a commando raid Saturday
But Brig. Adnan Abdul Rahman, the ministry’s information director, later denied they had been released and said “this is not true.”The Russian Embassy in Baghdad said it had no new information on the captives. The Foreign Ministry in Moscow also said it was still trying to verify the information, according to the Russian ITAR-Tass news agency.
On Saturday, gunmen attacked a Russian diplomatic car just after noon, killing one Russian foreign service employee and kidnapping four, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry identified the slain Russian as Vitaly Vitalyevich Titov, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.
The Sunni Arab Iraqi Islamic Party, a main partner in the government, condemned the attack and called on the kidnappers to release the Russians immediately. It also urged the Iraqi government to take action to secure Baghdad and other Iraqi cities and “put an end to these crimes.”
At least 439 foreigners including diplomats have been kidnapped in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion three years ago, according to figures provided earlier this month by a U.S. anti-kidnapping task force. Russia opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and has no troops here but maintains a diplomatic presence.
Market attack
A suicide car bomber blew himself up in a crowded market late Saturday in oil-rich southern Basra, killing 28 people and wounding 62.
The bomb exploded in the late afternoon when many people were shopping, police Capt. Mushtaq Kadhim said. The blast left pools of blood around the market square and set several vehicles on fire.
It wasn’t known who staged the attack, but Basra has seen growing violence and unrest, leading al-Maliki last week to declare a monthlong state of emergency in the mainly Shiite city.
The attack came one day after Jordanian-born terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi called on Iraq’s Sunni Arabs to kill Shiites. His al-Qaida in Iraq has claimed responsibility for some of the most horrific attacks in Iraq, including bombings that have killed more than 100 people.
Around Iraq, at least 42 people were killed Saturday and dozens were wounded, and police discovered the remains of 12 people, including eight severed heads.
On Sunday, gunmen in a car opened the fire on a minibus carrying telecommunications employees to work near the Shiite slum of Sadr City, killing four people and wounding two, Col. Hassan Challoub said.
AP
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen killed 19 people -- many of them high school students -- Sunday after dragging them off buses northeast of Baghdad. One person was wounded.
Serwan Shokir, the mayor Qara Tappah, said the incident occurred in the early morning after three mini buses left his town headed for Baqouba -- located 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.
He said the gunmen dragged 25 people from the buses, separated four Sunni Arabs in the group, and shot all the rest. The attack occurred as Iraq’s prime minister engaged in last minute negotiations with Sunni Arabs, Shiites and Kurds in an effort to find consensus on the ministers who will run the country’s armed forces and police.
The talks delayed a gathering of Iraq’s parliament for hours. The 275-legislature must vote on the candidates for the posts of defense, interior and minister of state for national security.
Filling the posts is seen as a key step toward Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s plan for Iraqi forces to take control of security from U.S.-led troops in 18 months. The positions have been temporarily staffed al-Maliki and one of his deputies since his government of national unity took office two weeks ago.
Al-Maliki had promised to name candidates Sunday despite a failure to agree with Iraq’s often fractious political parties, which are divided across ethnic and sectarian lines. The Shiite prime minister may present two candidates for each post.
“Meetings are still taking place, but no agreement has been achieved so far,” said Bahaa al-Araji, a Shiite legislator with the dominant United Iraqi Alliance.
Sunni Arabs have complained that negotiators for al-Maliki’s Shiite faction again rejected their candidates for defense minister. The Interior Ministry post will go to a Shiite and the Defense Ministry to a Sunni Arab in an effort to provide balance on security matters.
Russian diplomats kidnapped
There were conflicting reports Sunday over the fate of four Russian diplomats who were kidnapped in Baghdad.
An Interior Ministry spokesman on Sunday denied a report that four Russian hostages had been released the night before in a raid by Iraqi commandos. A senior ministry official Lt. Colonel Falah al-Mohamedawi said earlier that the Russian Embassy employees had been freed in a commando raid Saturday
But Brig. Adnan Abdul Rahman, the ministry’s information director, later denied they had been released and said “this is not true.”The Russian Embassy in Baghdad said it had no new information on the captives. The Foreign Ministry in Moscow also said it was still trying to verify the information, according to the Russian ITAR-Tass news agency.
On Saturday, gunmen attacked a Russian diplomatic car just after noon, killing one Russian foreign service employee and kidnapping four, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry identified the slain Russian as Vitaly Vitalyevich Titov, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.
The Sunni Arab Iraqi Islamic Party, a main partner in the government, condemned the attack and called on the kidnappers to release the Russians immediately. It also urged the Iraqi government to take action to secure Baghdad and other Iraqi cities and “put an end to these crimes.”
At least 439 foreigners including diplomats have been kidnapped in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion three years ago, according to figures provided earlier this month by a U.S. anti-kidnapping task force. Russia opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and has no troops here but maintains a diplomatic presence.
Market attack
A suicide car bomber blew himself up in a crowded market late Saturday in oil-rich southern Basra, killing 28 people and wounding 62.
The bomb exploded in the late afternoon when many people were shopping, police Capt. Mushtaq Kadhim said. The blast left pools of blood around the market square and set several vehicles on fire.
It wasn’t known who staged the attack, but Basra has seen growing violence and unrest, leading al-Maliki last week to declare a monthlong state of emergency in the mainly Shiite city.
The attack came one day after Jordanian-born terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi called on Iraq’s Sunni Arabs to kill Shiites. His al-Qaida in Iraq has claimed responsibility for some of the most horrific attacks in Iraq, including bombings that have killed more than 100 people.
Around Iraq, at least 42 people were killed Saturday and dozens were wounded, and police discovered the remains of 12 people, including eight severed heads.
On Sunday, gunmen in a car opened the fire on a minibus carrying telecommunications employees to work near the Shiite slum of Sadr City, killing four people and wounding two, Col. Hassan Challoub said.
AP