Car bomb kills 10
2006-04-06 15:26
Najaf - A car bomb exploded in the
Shi'ite city of Najaf on Thursday, killing at least 10 people as
Iraqi leaders struggle to break a deadlock over forming a new
government they hope can avert sectarian civil war.
Police said the blast occurred near the Imam Ali shrine, one
of the most sacred shrines to Shi'ites around the world. The
mosque was not damaged.
In February, the bombing of another sacred Shi'ite shrine in
the town of Samarra touched off reprisals and pushed Iraq to the
edge of a full-blown sectarian conflict.
Hospital officials said the blast killed 10 people and
wounded 50 others, but police put the death toll at 15. A
Reuters correspondent saw 10 bodies and body parts on the
ground. Southern Iraq has been relatively free of the Arab Sunni
insurgency plaguing other parts of the country.
The blast came amid growing calls for Shi'ite Prime Minister
Ibrahim al-Jaafari to withdraw his nomination to keep his job in
the new government.
Another setback
Kurdish and Sunni leaders refuse to work with him and even
senior officials in his Shi'ite Alliance say he should step
aside but Jaafari has deflected criticism that he failed to
improve security in his year in power as interim prime minister.
The push for a new government has exposed sharp differences
among Shi'ites in an uneasy alliance with parties backed by
rival militias.
Jaafari's main supporter is Moqtada al-Sadr, a Najaf-based
cleric who has led two bloody uprisings against United States troops.
The United States and Britain delivered a tough warning to
Iraqi leaders this week, saying the political vacuum left by
their bickering would only fuel violence.
A press conference at which officials were expected to
announce the date of the next session of Iraq's parliament was
cancelled on Thursday, organisers said, dealing another blow to
efforts to form a government.
No official reason was given but the cancellation appeared
to be another setback for Iraqis who hoped their first full term
government would deliver stability.
Even if Jaafari steps aside, choosing a replacement with the
fractious Shi'ite alliance could plunge Iraq into a new
political crisis and no possible candidates have quick solutions
for Iraq's woes.
Once the parliament speaker is chosen, the new constitution
sets a 30-day timetable for forming a government, though there
is dispute over whether this should apply to the first
parliament.
Rescue workers carried blackened bodies on stretchers after
the blast in Najaf, also home to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani,
a top Shi'ite cleric whose calls for moderation are credited
with keeping Iraq from hitting the point of no return.