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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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October 5th,
2009 - Police: At least 6 Dead in Iraq Suicide Blast |
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Police: At
least 6 Dead in Iraq Suicide Blast By Sameer N. Yacoub Associated Press October 5, 2009 Baghdad - A suicide bomber
killed at least six mourners at funeral for a member of a prominent tribe
with ties to both security forces and insurgents in western Iraq on Monday, a
police official said. The bomber detonated an
explosive belt inside a funeral tent in the mostly Sunni area of Haditha,
about 140 miles (220 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad. At least 15 people
were injured, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because
he was not authorized to speak to media. The funeral was for a member
of the al-Jaghaifa tribe, which is split between members of the police and
military and supporters of the Sunni insurgency. Haditha is located in Anbar
Province, which was once a stronghold for the Sunni insurgency but became a
key battleground for U.S.-led forces after many tribes turned against
al-Qaida in Iraq and other groups. In southern Iraq, meanwhile,
the country's most senior Shiite cleric threatened to call for a boycott of
January's parliamentary elections if the voting system includes only the
parties and not the names of the candidates. Iraqi lawmakers are
considering having the Jan. 16 ballots list only the party blocs and not the
individual candidates, but Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani wants a so-called
"open list" system because he believes it will encourage more voter
participation. An official in al-Sistani's
office says the cleric may "not play a big role in the political
process" - which is widely interpreted as a warning he could call for a
boycott. He spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because he was not
authorized to talk to the media. Such a call by al-Sistani
would likely bring massive no-shows at the polls and raise questions about
the legitimacy of the outcome. Iraq's majority Shiites have
been split into two political camps: one led by Shiite religious parties and
the other a broad coalition put together by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Copyright © 2009 The
Associated Press. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hwK_CSpBxsNuVUEaDuOwmSSCiqGwD9B5091G1 |