| Bomb Wounds Five in Sunni Triangle |
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Thursday, January 29, 2004  BAGHDAD, Iraq — A roadside bomb exploded Thursday in a central Iraqi city, wounding five Iraqis, a day after thousands of Shiite Muslims protested in the south to demand the U.S.-appointed provincial governor's resignation. Also Wednesday, a suicide bomber sped through a security barrier in the heart of Baghdad and blew up a van disguised as an ambulance in front of a hotel, killing three people — including a South African — and wounding 17. The protest by some 10,000 people in the town of Nasiriyah was the latest sign of the growing empowerment of Iraq's majority Shiites who were repressed for decades by Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime. Sunni insurgents loyal to the captured dictator are blamed for much of the ongoing violence in the country, such as Wednesday's suicide van bombing in an upscale Baghdad neighborhood. Thursday's bombing occurred in Baqouba, in the volatile Sunni Triangle north and west of the capital. The bomb, which was placed on a road near a sports stadium, exploded during the morning rush hour, Iraqi police Capt. Mohammed Saleh said. Details on the five victims were not immediately available. The violence and the wider Shiite demands for early general elections have become the biggest headaches for the U.S.-led coalition administration as it nears a self-imposed deadline to hand over power to an unelected Iraqi government on July 1. "No to Israel! No to imperialism! No to America!" the crowd chanted in Nasiriyah, about 215 miles southeast of Baghdad, demanding that provincial governor Sabri al-Roumaith step down. Coalition officials said the governor left his office to defuse tensions after failing to placate the crowd but did not resign. The protest was led by Muqtada al-Sadr, a rival of Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric, Grandy Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani. Still, the crowd echoed al-Sistani's position that unelected officials have no authority, carrying signs reading "No to appointments, yes to elections." Italian troops in Nasiriyah did not intervene. The city was the site of a Nov. 12 suicide bombing at the headquarters of Italy's paramilitary police that killed more than 30 people, including 19 Italians. Tens of thousands of Shiites have held protests in various cities in Iraq this month to support al-Sistani's refusal to accept a U.S. plan to select a transitional government through an interim legislature chosen in regional caucuses before the planned July 1 hand over of power. He is demanding direct elections but Washington cites the ongoing violence and the lack of electoral roles as a reason to delay elections until 2005. A United Nations team arrived Tuesday in Baghdad to determine whether it was safe for another U.N. team to come to Iraq to study prospects for an early elections. It is hoped that the team's decision would end the deadlock between Washington and the Shiites. Al-Sistani has indicated that he will respect a U.N. decision. U.S. officials have warned that attacks by insurgents will increase in the run-up to the July handover. This was demonstrated by the Baghdad suicide bombing, the second in the capital less than two weeks. The attack at the Shaheen — a hotel frequented by Westerners — also confirmed intelligence warnings that insurgents might use ambulances to evade security checks. Witnesses said a white van with Red Crescent markings drove through an opening in the barbed wire and concrete cylinder barriers on Masbah Street at about 6:40 a.m. They said guards opened fire at the van but it managed to reach the front of the hotel, where it exploded. The U.S. military said the van was packed with 400-500 pounds of explosives. Police and the U.S. military said four people, including the bomber, were killed. One of those killed and four of the wounded were from South Africa, South African Foreign Ministry spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said. A huge crater was gouged in the street by the bomb, which also destroyed the ground floor of the three-story hotel and damaged three nearby buildings. Meanwhile, Iraq welcomed some good news for its sports fans. On Thursday, Iraqi sports officials were electing a new National Olympic Committee, which for years was headed by Saddam's son, Odai, who reportedly punished athletes with torture. The election was being held in the northern resort town of Dukan. Ahmed al-Sammarai, a former star athlete and a former army general, is expected to be named president of NOC. Al-Sammarai returned to Iraq last year after 20 years of exile. The International Olympic Committee suspended the Iraqi NOC on May 17, 2003 after the fall of Saddam's regime in April in line with the Olympic Charter to allow its restructuring. Also Thursday, Iraq's U.S.-appointed Governing Council member Mahmoud Othman said the Oil Ministry has been asked to gather information on allegations that Saddam's regime bribed prominent foreigners with oil money to back his regime. Othman said a judicial probe may follow after information has been gathered by the ministry, but no formal investigation has been launched yet. |
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Thursday's bombing occurred in Baqouba, in the volatile Sunni Triangle north and west of the capital. The bomb, which was placed on a road near a sports stadium, exploded during the morning rush hour, Iraqi police Capt. Mohammed Saleh said. Details on the five victims were not immediately available.
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AP recap. 5 Iraqis wounded (our enemies are once again saddened that no one died, and emboldened by the western press response).