Rebels Target Allawi Headquarters, Troops With Car Bombs

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Insurgents pressed their bloody campaign to sabotage Iraq’s January 30 elections with three car bombings and a roadside attack yesterday, one near the prime minister’s party headquarters in Baghdad and others targeting Iraqi troops and an American security company.At least 16 people were killed, bringing the toll over two days to about 50 and emphasizing how poorly prepared Iraq’s interim government is to provide security before the vote. American and Iraqi leaders have repeatedly warned that the guerrillas would step up violence, but both have been unable to prevent attacks.The country’s defense minister, meanwhile, traveled to Egypt to seek help in getting Iraq’s Sunni Muslim minority to take part in the elections. Leaders of the Sunni community, about 20% of Iraqis, say the country is far too unsafe to hold the vote.A low turnout because of the fear of violence or a Sunni boycott could undermine the legitimacy of the country’s first free elections since the overthrow of the monarchy in 1958.The defense minister, Hazem Shaalan, suggested that if Sunnis agreed to participate, the vote could be postponed by a few weeks to give them time to prepare. Iraq’s Sunni areas, mostly surrounding and west of Baghdad, have seen some of the worst violence in recent weeks.But Fareed Ayar, a spokesman for Iraq’s Independent Electoral Commission, seemed adamant that no delay was envisioned. “The commission is still working on holding the elections on schedule,” he said.Late yesterday afternoon, a suicide bomber plowed his car into an SUV in a convoy that had just left the Green Zone, the heavily fortified area in the heart of Baghdad that houses the American Embassy and Iraqi government offices.American Embassy spokesman Bob Callahan said the convoy was carrying employees of the New York-based risk consulting group Kroll Inc. but had no details. An Associated Press photographer saw three bodies burning inside the wrecked vehicle.A Kroll spokesman refused to comment, saying the company was investigating. The checkpoint is the main Green Zone exit for trips to Baghdad International Airport west of the city, and American contractors and diplomats commonly make the journey along the dangerous airport road in SUVs.Earlier in the day, an explosives laden car blew up when the driver rammed a checkpoint outside the offices of interim Prime Minister Allawi’s National Accord party. Two policemen, a civilian and the driver died, and 25 people were wounded. Witnesses said machine-gun fire broke out after the explosion, which set fire to three police vehicles.Mr. Allawi, a secular member of Iraq’s Shiite Muslim majority, was not at the building when the blast occurred, his aides said. The Ansar al-Sunnah Army – known for numerous deadly attacks against American troops, Iraqi force, and politicians – claimed responsibility for the strike.“One of Islam’s lions managed to carry out a heroic martyrdom operation targeting a large bunch of Iraqi police agents responsible for guarding the headquarters of the National Accord of the apostate Allawi,” a statement posted on the group’s Web site said.A roadside bomb in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit killed at least six Iraqi National Guardsmen and wounded four, police said.In Balad, about 50 miles north of the capital, a suicide car bomber killed four Iraqi soldiers and wounded 14, American military spokesman Neal O’Brien said. “Anti-Iraqi forces continue to target the Iraqi National Guard” because the force is creating conditions for “successful elections,” he said.An Iraqi policeman was killed and two were wounded when a beheaded, booby-trapped corpse exploded in the northern city of Mosul as “Iraqi police officers secured the site and attempted to search the remains in order to identify the body,” a government statement said. It was not clear when the incident happened.Also yesterday, Mr. Allawi simply smiled while appearing on a live TV show when a man called to praise terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The Iraqi leader then moved on, offering to find information about a woman’s detained son and see why a student didn’t get into the graduate program of his choice.The surprisingly frank hour-long call-in program, “The Iraqi Podium,” is a rarity for the region, giving Iraqis the chance to pepper Mr. Allawi with questions, from the mundane to the serious. Judging by the show’s popularity, Iraqis are taking advantage.The show’s host, Abdul-Karim Hammad, said he proposed the show to Mr. Allawi, who agreed. It may be a campaign ploy as Mr. Allawi tries to burnish his image ahead of January 30 elections, but from the nature of the questions, it appears the calls aren’t screened.“I told him the one condition, which is that you have to accept anything the people say even if they insult you,” Mr. Hammad said. “He said it was fine, as long as he wasn’t criticized personally, but they can say anything they want about his work.”

Rebels Target Allawi Headquarters, Troops With Car Bombs

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