|
48 die in attack on Baghdad Shiite slum
(AP)
Updated: 2006-03-13 19:01
Al-Jaafari's candidacy for a second term as prime minister is one of the
major issues in dispute as some Kurdish, Sunni and secular leaders argue he is
too divisive and did too little to contain the sectarian violence that killed
hundreds after being unleashed by the Feb. 22 destruction of the famed golden
dome atop the Askariya shrine in Samarra.
Iraqis had feared such an attack like the one that hit the Shiite slum on
Sunday was coming, especially after al-Sadr's fighters stormed out of the slum
to take revenge on Sunni Muslims and their mosques after the Samarra attack.
"After Sadr City's reaction to the bombing of our holy shrine in Samarra, we
were expecting bombing attacks," said Amer al-Husseini, a black-turbaned cleric
who serves as an aide to al-Sadr.
He said the Mahdi Army militia had mobilized its members Sunday night.
The Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's largest Sunni Muslim group, condemned
the bombings, which it said were "carried out by the enemies of our nation who
don't like to see Iraqis united or living in a stable country."
In a statement, the group urged all Iraqi political groups to cooperate "in
order to put an end to the bloodshed that has targeted all Iraqis of all
religions and sects and to speed the formation of a national unity government
that works for the security of citizens."
On March 4, Gen. John Abizaid, chief of the U.S. Central Command, also
predicted another such attack by terrorists trying to spark all-out civil war in
the country.
"They'll find some other place that's undefended, they'll strike it and
they'll hope for more sectarian violence," the general said after a two-day
visit to Baghdad.
Formation of a strong central government is key to U.S. hopes to announce
troop withdrawals beginning this summer. Key military leaders were expected to
make recommendations on that step in meetings with President Bush in the coming
days. The intensification of Khalilzad's political efforts appeared dictated by
the need for progress before the coming meetings in Washington.
In a bid to ease sectarian tension, the Iraqi defense and interior ministries
announced Sunday they would share intelligence and conduct all future raids
jointly. Members of the Sunni Arab minority accuse Shiite militiamen operating
within the ranks of the police and Interior Ministry of carrying out
extrajudicial killings and abductions.
"Brothers, we have to pull out by the roots the evil which is trying to
destroy this country," Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi, a Sunni, said at a
joint news conference with Shiite Interior Minister Bayan
Jabr.
|
