A car bomb exploded in the holy Shiite city of Karbala yesterday, killing at least 12 people and wounding more than 30, and insurgents also struck in Baghdad, shooting dead three Election Commission employees.
Shortly afterwards, a separate explosion struck a market in Najaf -- another Shiite religious city south of Karbala. The blast took place near the city's Imam Ali mosque, but there were no immediate reports of any dead or wounded.
PHOTO: AP
The main hospital said 30 people were killed and at least 65 wounded, but an official emphasized that it was a provisional toll and the numbers could rise. He said all appeared to be civilians and there were many women and children among them.
It was the second attack in five days in Karbala, home to two important Shiite shrines.
Election Workers
In Baghdad, insurgents dragged three employees of Iraq's Electoral Commission from a car and shot them dead, the latest in a series of attacks designed to disrupt plans for the poll.
A spokesman for the Electoral Commission said three junior employees had been killed in the assault but said it was unclear if they were targeted because they worked with the commission, which is charged with conducting next month's vote.
"We don't know if they were targeted specifically," spokesman and Commission board member Farid Ayar said.
Witnesses said insurgents opened fire on the vehicle before dragging three people from it and shooting them. The car was set on fire and the bodies left lying near the burning wreckage.
Guerrillas armed with AK-47 assault rifles and pistols then set up a roadblock on the street, stopping and searching every car that passed, pointing their guns in through the windows.
Fierce gunbattles ensued, witnesses said, as police tried for several hours to get to the scene of the attack. US military helicopters flew low over the area, which echoed with gunfire and small explosions, residents said.
Militants kidnapped and are threatening to kill 10 Iraqis employed by a US security company unless the firm pulls out of Iraq, a caller from the militants told Reuters. A tape broadcast by Arab satellite channels yesterday showed the hostages.
Saddam Trial
Meanwhile, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is preparing a legal challenge in the US to his trial for war crimes, a newspaper reported yesterday, citing leaked papers prepared by his defense team.
Clive Stafford Smith, a British human rights lawyer, has prepared a 50-page brief which contains advice to take the case to US courts to ensure he receives a fair trial, the Sunday Times reported after saying it had seen the document.
The action is to ensure that Saddam receives the basic legal rights given to those tried in the US, such as full access to his defense team and an independent judge and jury, the newspaper said.
It said the leaked brief is entitled "The Iraqi Special Tribunal as Victors' Justice -- the Inherent Illegality and Bias of the Whole Process."
The brief argues that US law should prevail in the case because the trial is effectively being taken at the behest of the US government.
On Saturday, Saddam's feared cousin "Chemical Ali" and a former defense minister were questioned by an investigating judge, launching the first phase in war crimes trials of leaders of the toppled Iraqi government.
The hearings are expected to eventually see the former strongman and 11 aides charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, officials said.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
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