At least 13 Iraqis were killed as violence picked up yesterday while Sunni and Shiite politicians appealed for unity in government following a landmark election conducted in relative peace.
Eight security force personnel were among those shot dead or blown up in a string of attacks in or north of the capital since late on Saturday.
Gunmen killed Dhiab Hamad al-Hamdani and his son Munah, the uncle and nephew of a Kurdish party leader in the disputed oil city of Kirkuk, police said.
PHOTO: AFP
Ali Karim al-Assadi, a Shiite member of the Badr Organization, the former military wing of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), was shot dead in Baghdad, a security source said.
SCIRI is the largest Shiite party and leads the main United Iraqi Alliance coalition, which is tipped to win a sweeping majority in the Shiite south when the results are finalized from Thursday's general election.
Despite days of relative calm amid a massive security clampdown, lifted yesterday after the election, the Iraqi branch of Al-Qaeda has warned minority Sunni Arabs against being lulled into a false sense of security by the polls.
"Do not be fooled by what you have heard of the propaganda from the crusaders and their footmen," the group said on the Internet, threatening to continue its attacks.
The fallen Sunni elite, who largely boycotted a vote for a transitional assembly in January, flocked to polls to elect a full-term parliament and boost their political representation over the next four years.
US President George W. Bush, whose approval ratings have slumped over the rising US body count in Iraq was to give a speech from the Oval Office later yesterday to lay out the way forward in Iraq.
The US is expected to trim troop levels from about 150,000 to 138,000 by the end of next month with General George Casey, the US commander in Iraq, to make recommendations on whether further cuts can be made.
Official election results from are not expected for around nine days with vote counting still taking place at provincial level.
Members of parliament will then appoint a president and two vice presidents, who will have 15 days to name a prime minister, who must form a Cabinet backed by parliament.
Leading Sunni Arab politician Adnan al-Dulaimi on Saturday called for a coalition to protect national unity in a new parliament and thanked insurgents for not attacking polling stations during the vote.
"We will work towards finding a strong coalition in the national assembly that can protect the rights of Iraqis," said the politician, a leader of the Iraqi National Concord Front, the largest Sunni list to contest the vote.
With US officials and the UN appealing for the quick formation of a government that reaches across the sectarian divide, outgoing Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari also urged Sunni-Shiite unity.
"To our brothers in Mosul, Ramadi and Tikrit, I say your brothers in Najaf, Karbala and Hilla have waited a long time to work hand in hand with you under the dome of the next parliament to build the new Iraq," he said.
Firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr, who has allies on the main Shiite coalition led by SCIRI leader Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, said that he would support "anyone or any list who serves the Iraqi people and wants the independence of Iraq."
"The occupiers do not want to serve the interest of the people but their own interest and want therefore to bring those who serve that interest to power."
He suggested that a cross-party committee be formed to supervise vote counting "to avoid any fraud and vote manipulation."
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number