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BAGHDAD, Iraq - The camera shows the suicide bomber warmly embracing a group of masked men. There are kisses on the cheek and a shot of him in the cab of a truck — his fingers resting on what appears to be a detonator. He reads a statement, telling his wife and his companions: "I sacrifice myself for my religion." Then, as a camera films cars passing quietly across a bridge, an explosion sends up a massive ball of fire. The scene, purportedly of the suicide bomber's mission, is one of several on a video given to Time magazine correspondent...

Bremer Hails Slain Leader as 'Constant Source of Strength' By John D. BanusiewiczAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, May 17, 2004 – A suicide car bomb claimed the lives of the Iraqi Governing Council president and at least four other Iraqis outside the Coalition Provisional headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, today. Ezzidin Salim is the highest-ranking Iraqi official to be assassinated since the country's liberation. Eight people – six Iraqis and two U.S. soldiers – were wounded in the attack, officials said. Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III, CPA administrator, called Salim's death "a shocking and tragic loss" and expressed condolences to...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The head of the Iraqi Governing Council was killed Monday in a car bombing near a U.S. checkpoint in central Baghdad, Iraqi officials said. The killing was the second of a member of the U.S.-appointed council since last year and dealt a blow to U.S. efforts to stabilize Iraq ahead of a handover of sovereignty on June 30. Abdel-Zahraa Othman, also known as Izzadine Saleem, was among four Iraqis killed in the blast, according to Redha Jawad Taki, a member of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, a Shiite Muslim organization. As the...

Straw: Murder must not deter power transfer 17/05/2004 - 09:50:41 British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said today the killing of the head of the Iraqi Governing Council should not deter the transfer of power from US-led coalition forces next month. Straw condemned the car bombing which killed Abdel-Zahraa Othman, also known as Izzadine Saleem, and said the leader was among “seven or eight other people” killed, he said. “What this shows is that the terrorists and insurgents in Iraq are trying to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power from the occupiers to the Iraqi people, and these terrorists are enemies...

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<p>BAGHDAD, May 17 (Reuters) - A car bomb exploded on Monday near a U.S. base in western Baghdad and there were several casualties, witnesses at the scene said.</p> <p>Cars were on fire and a large column of thick black smoke rose into the sky. U.S. troops blocked off the area.</p>