Six people were killed during a raid before dawn yesterday as US troops hunted down an al-Qaeda suspect at a safehouse south of Baghdad, the US military said. In the capital, a bomb hidden in a shopping bag on a minibus killed at least three passengers.
US forces stormed the house in Youssifiyah, 20km south of Baghdad, about 2:15am. Those inside started shooting, and the troops fired back, a US statement said.
Soldiers killed two men who were wearing suicide bomb vests, and a third detonated his explosives himself, the statement said.
A woman also died, and three women and a child were wounded, in the crossfire, the US said. Five US troops were injured, but none seriously, the statement added.
Five suspected insurgents, including the target of the raid, were detained and weapons were seized, the statement said.
The alleged al-Qaeda suspect was not identified but the military said he worked with foreign fighters to plan bombings.
The minibus bombing occurred near a mosque in the mostly Shiite neighborhood of Kamaliyah in eastern Baghdad. At least six others were wounded in the morning blast, police said.
Meanwhile, Iraq's Sunni Arab and Kurdish leaders warned yesterday that the long-running political deadlock over Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari was unlikely to end before parliament convenes this week.
Iraqi leaders have failed to agree on the Shiite nomination of Jaafari to remain premier, four months after a landmark election for the country's first permanent post-Saddam Hussein government.
Leaders of Sunni and Kurdish parliamentary blocs said negotiations over Jaafari's candidacy were unlikely to find a solution before the assembly meets today for only the second time since the Dec. 15 election.
"It will be difficult," said Zhafer al-Ani, spokesman of the Sunni-led National Concord Front, which has 44 seats in the 275-member parliament.
"We are not optimistic about a decision today before the parliament opens tomorrow as negotiations are very difficult," he said.
Prominent Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman said leaders of all political parties were due to meet yesterday and were even likely to consider whether to attend parliament or not today.
"I do not think they will be able to reach an agreement, especially on all the candidates for key parliamentary posts," Othman said.
Shiite leaders had originally said they would finalize their candidates for the various government posts before today.
The Sunnis and Kurds are opposed to Jaafari staying on as premier, accusing him of failing to curb sectarian violence that has engulfed Iraq for the last few months, leaving hundreds of people dead.
Sunnis fear that the Shiites -- in a tit-for-tat political move -- may oppose their candidates for other key posts.
Ani said the Front had finalized candidates for three posts. Top Sunni leader Adnan al-Dulaimi was nominated as vice president, Tareq al-Hashemi as parliament speaker and Khalaf al-Alyan as deputy prime minister.
"We will consult today with other groups on these candidates and I hope they [the Shiite alliance] will not have reservations on our names due to our objections to Jaafari," Ani said.
"They should consider national interests and rise above their own party interests," he said.
Othman said Kurdish groups had not yet finalized candidates for the posts of deputy parliamentary speaker and deputy prime minister but insisted that "Jalal Talabani will be the candidate for the president."
In the last few days the Shiites have been stressing the importance of discussing candidates for all key posts as part of an overall package, not just the premiership.
‘SHARP COMPETITION’: Australia is to partner with US-based Lockheed Martin to make guided multiple launch rocket systems, an Australian defense official said Australia is to ramp up missile manufacturing under a plan unveiled yesterday by a top defense official, who said bolstering weapons stockpiles would help keep would-be foes at bay. Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said the nation would establish a homegrown industry to produce long-range guided missiles and other much-needed munitions. “Why do we need more missiles? Strategic competition between the United States and China is a primary feature of Australia’s security environment,” Conroy said in a speech. “That competition is at its sharpest in our region, the Indo-Pacific.” Australia is to partner with US-based weapons giant Lockheed Martin to make
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
TIGHT CAMPAIGN: Although Harris got a boost from an Iowa poll, neither candidate had a margin greater than three points in any of the US’ seven battleground states US Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the final days before the election, as she and former US president and Republican presidential nominees make a frantic last push to win over voters in a historically close campaign. The first lines Harris spoke as she sat across from Maya Rudolph, their outfits identical, was drowned out by cheers from the audience. “It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph with a broad grin she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you, you got this.” In sync, the two said supporters
Pets are not forgotten during Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs. Although the human dead usually get their favorite food or drink placed on altars, the nature of pet food can make things a little different. The holiday has roots in Mexican pre-Hispanic customs, as does the reverence for animals. The small, hairless dogs that Mexicans kept before the Spanish conquest were believed to help guide their owners to the afterlife, and were sometimes given
RSS