12 Jul 2010 12:21:39 GMT
Source: Reuters
* New two-week deadline is 'definite', says lawmaker
* Shi'ite clerics had warned against missing deadline
By Waleed Ibrahim
BAGHDAD, July 12 (Reuters) - Iraqi politicians on Monday postponed for two weeks a session of parliament that should have picked the country's new president after failing to make any headway in talks on a coalition government, lawmakers said.
The delay in holding the session, due to be held on Tuesday, was due to political deadlock more than four months after a March 7 election and means that parliament has failed to meet a constitutional deadline and entered unconstitutional territory.
Parliament's temporary speaker Fouad Masoum acknowledged that the constitution was being violated.
"Yes, that's right," he said. "But it is, as the proverb says, not the first clay jar to be broken."
Under Iraq's constitution drawn up in the chaotic wake of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the new 325-seat parliament should have picked a new speaker and a new president before July 14. The new president in turn should select a prime minister and ask the nominee to form a government.
But the election produced no outright winner and Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish groups have been locked in a prolonged tussle to negotiate a coalition that could command a working majority.
While the outgoing government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is running the administration in a caretaker capacity, a sense of political vacuum has put the country on edge.
Sunni Islamist insurgents seeking to reignite the sectarian bloodshed that peaked in 2006/07 have claimed responsibility for a string of major bombings since the vote, and dozens of Shi'ite pilgrims died last week in bomb attacks when insurgents targeted a religious festival in Baghdad.
The delay in forming a government occurred as the U.S. military prepares to end combat operations on Aug. 31 and cut its numbers to 50,000 from 77,000 now, ahead of a full withdrawal in 2011.
That places the burden of providing security and battling a weakened but still determined insurgency in the hands of Iraqi troops and police.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONCERNS The agreement to postpone the parliamentary session due to take place on Tuesday was unanimous among all political groups, said Sunni lawmaker Izzalddin al-Dawla. The politicians declined to give an exact date for the next session.
"This decision was made in order to give more time to the political parties to have further talks and it was agreed in the meeting to set this new deadline as a definite one," he said.
A cross-sectarian alliance led by ex-Prime Minister Iyad Allawi took a two-seat lead over Maliki's State of Law coalition in the election after winning strong backing from the Sunni minority which dominated Iraq under Saddam Hussein.
But Maliki and the country's other main Shi'ite-led bloc merged after the vote and are expected to pip Allawi's Iraqiya alliance in the race to eventually form a government.
Iraq's hugely influential Shi'ite clergy had warned against missing the constitutional deadline and some politicians also objected.
"This decision to postpone the session for two weeks is unjustified," said Salim al-Jubouri, a senior member of the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party. "After this nobody will respect the constitution." (Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Muhanad Mohammed; Writing by Michael Christie)
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Spain captures World Cup
Reuters Published on Sunday, Jul. 11, 2010 2:31PM EDT Last updated on Sunday, Jul. 11, 2010 5:20PM EDT
Spain won the World Cup for the first time when they beat Netherlands 1-0 after extra time thanks to a goal by midfielder Andres Iniesta.
Iniesta fired home the winner when he was put through in the area by Cesc Fabregas. Keeper Maarten Stekelenburg dived to his right and got a hand to the ball he could not keep it out.
The defeat was heartbreaking for the Dutch, who were down to 10 men after John Heitinga was sent off in extra time. It was their third World Cup final loss after 1974 and 1978.
European champions Spain had looked the more assured early on in the clash at Soccer City as a nervous-looking Dutch side ceded territory to their slick opponents.
Stekelenburg was forced into a save after five minutes when Sergio Ramos headed a Xavi cross goalwards while Spain forward David Villa crashed a volley into the side netting with the goal looming.
But a series of freekicks and bookings, including two strong challenges by Dutch midfielders Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel, shook Spain out of their rhythm and stopped them from producing the swift-passing game that got them to the final.
Netherlands offered little in attack and the nearest they came to a first-half goal was a bizarre incident when Gregory van der Wiel attempted to give the ball back in an act of sportsmanship.
The fullback’s 60-metre punt bounced up and over Spain captain Iker Casillas, forcing the startled keeper to leap and tip it to safety.
The game continued with frequent stoppages and few chances, until Wesley Sneijder split the Spanish defence with a perfectly-weighted ball into the path of Arjen Robben after 62 minutes only for Casillas to save brilliantly with his feet.
In a lively end to normal time Villa had a shot blocked in front of the line, an unmarked Ramos headed wildly over the bar from five metres out and Puyol was lucky to escape punishment after hauling down a furious Robben.
In extra time it was Stekelenburg’s turn to save with his feet when substitute Fabregas was sent clear by Iniesta.
Netherlands had to play with 10 men for the last 10 minutes of extra time when John Heitinga was sent off for hauling down Iniesta on the edge of the box.
The little midfielder got back on his feet and soon after was celebrating scoring the winning goal in the World Cup final to send the delighted Spanish fans into raptures.
Spain won the World Cup for the first time when they beat Netherlands 1-0 after extra time thanks to a goal by midfielder Andres Iniesta.
Iniesta fired home the winner when he was put through in the area by Cesc Fabregas. Keeper Maarten Stekelenburg dived to his right and got a hand to the ball he could not keep it out.
The defeat was heartbreaking for the Dutch, who were down to 10 men after John Heitinga was sent off in extra time. It was their third World Cup final loss after 1974 and 1978.
European champions Spain had looked the more assured early on in the clash at Soccer City as a nervous-looking Dutch side ceded territory to their slick opponents.
Stekelenburg was forced into a save after five minutes when Sergio Ramos headed a Xavi cross goalwards while Spain forward David Villa crashed a volley into the side netting with the goal looming.
But a series of freekicks and bookings, including two strong challenges by Dutch midfielders Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel, shook Spain out of their rhythm and stopped them from producing the swift-passing game that got them to the final.
Netherlands offered little in attack and the nearest they came to a first-half goal was a bizarre incident when Gregory van der Wiel attempted to give the ball back in an act of sportsmanship.
The fullback’s 60-metre punt bounced up and over Spain captain Iker Casillas, forcing the startled keeper to leap and tip it to safety.
The game continued with frequent stoppages and few chances, until Wesley Sneijder split the Spanish defence with a perfectly-weighted ball into the path of Arjen Robben after 62 minutes only for Casillas to save brilliantly with his feet.
In a lively end to normal time Villa had a shot blocked in front of the line, an unmarked Ramos headed wildly over the bar from five metres out and Puyol was lucky to escape punishment after hauling down a furious Robben.
In extra time it was Stekelenburg’s turn to save with his feet when substitute Fabregas was sent clear by Iniesta.
Netherlands had to play with 10 men for the last 10 minutes of extra time when John Heitinga was sent off for hauling down Iniesta on the edge of the box.
The little midfielder got back on his feet and soon after was celebrating scoring the winning goal in the World Cup final to send the delighted Spanish fans into raptures.
Saudi support for Spain is rooted in history
istory
By SIRAJ WAHAB | ARAB NEWS
Published: Jul 10, 2010 23:40 Updated: Jul 10, 2010 23:40
ALKHOBAR: An overwhelming majority of Saudi football fans will be rooting for Spain on Sunday night when it tangles with the Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup 2010 final at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.
There are a variety of reasons — some predictable and some bizarre — as to why the men and women of this nation of 28 million people are supporting the men in red.
For Jasim M. Al-Yaqout, the Eastern Province general manager of the Ministry of Culture and Information, it is the happy memories of Spain and Spaniards that makes him back the Spanish team.
"They are a very friendly people. I know this firsthand having visited Spain four times. Once I spent nearly six months in Seville in connection with the Saudi Expo there. I was also there during the opening of the Islamic center in Madrid years ago. They are a lovely people. Tonight my prayers are with them," said Al-Yaqout.
Riyadh-based columnist Suraya Al-Shehry is so excited about Spain that she thinks it will beat the Netherlands 3-1.
She described the Spanish footballers as musicians. "There is so much symphony and rhythm in the way they play. They are not just musicians — they are magicians. Their wizardry with the ball in their semifinal against the Germans was magnificent. The moment they have the ball ... whirrrrrrr, they go."
Such is her and her daughters' passion for Spain that Al-Shehry has painted her TV lounge red to go with the Spanish team color. "Even the food that we will serve tonight will have a Spanish theme, and there will be strawberry juice to celebrate the color of our team."
And if all that is not enough, Al-Shehry also has a vuvuzela. "We will blow this plastic horn every time Spanish players take control of the ball," she said while laughing gregariously over the phone during the interview.
Abdul Aziz Arrubkan, the UN secretary-general's special envoy for humanitarian affairs, told Arab News from New York that he also is rooting for Spain. "Football aficionados dutifully follow the Spanish leagues in Saudi Arabia. Barcelona, Real Madrid, to name just two Spanish clubs, are household names in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. Therefore, there is a sense of familiarity toward Spain," he explained.
Arrubkan also liked the shape 2010 World Cup has taken in the last four games. "Spain has never been in the finals. The Netherlands has been, but they've never won the cup. All this is good for the game. Nobody likes to see the same countries winning four years after four years. This is welcome relief."
Jeddah-based businessman Muhammad Al-Adel is not much of a football fanatic, yet he will be in front of his large flat-screen home television tonight watching the game closely in the company of his friends and rooting for Spain. The reason? "One particular incident has changed my perception of the Dutch people forever. Once when I was traveling to Amsterdam, the Dutch woman at the airport had some kind of conniption when she looked at my Saudi passport. This was long before Sept. 11, 2001. She made faces and was very condescending. Ever since I have been with all those who are against that country," said Al-Adel. "Tonight I will hopefully have my revenge."
Former Saudi Aramco executive Bidah Mejdal Al-Gahtani will be in Barcelona tonight to watch the all-important game. Who is he supporting? "Spain," comes the instant reply. "Because they have taken what we call the sporting spirit to a whole new level. This is the team that has got the least number of cards. You can check that out. They play a fair game. They enjoy their game, and they ensure that those who are watching them are enjoying, as well. It is so much fun watching them in action."
Al-Gahtani said one big advantage for Spain is the lack of over-hyped and over-rated players. "This tournament has demonstrated that individuals do not matter. Look at how the top players have fallen by the wayside. It is all teamwork. Spain is the best example of that. Tonight will be their night."
"Spain, Spain, Spain," said Lina Almaeena, the Jeddah United executive director and captain of the Women's Basketball Division. "There are many reasons why I am supporting Spain, but the most important of them is the cultural affinity that we share with Spain. This is the country that was under Muslim rule for 800 years. And because of that there are so many things that are common between us and the Spaniards. They have similar family values as we do. They are very protective of their families just as we are. We have known Spain as Al-Andalus. That word creates some kind of an aura in our minds ... I know it is a bit philosophical, but that is the primary reason I am cheering for Spain."
Most Saudis referred to what Lina Almaeena described as the aura of Al-Andalus.
"It is natural for Saudis to support Spain," explained Riyadh-based historian Hatoon Al-Fassi, who herself is no fan of the game. "There is this nostalgia about Spain, and why should there not be? We have had 800 years of relationship with that country. We are historically and geographically closer to Spain than other European countries," Al-Fassi said. "No wonder, we have streets, districts and towns named after Al-Andalus."
According to her, when it comes to favoring one or the other country in such high-profile tournaments, the sense of history and current affairs do play a part in the choices people make. "Arabs and Muslims are politically conscious people. They will always try to find out who is on their side and who is not in the political arena. Then there is the Palestinian issue. People here are aware that most of the European countries are pro-Israel and that they indulge in promoting Islamophobia. For Spain, there is some kind of sympathy because its current government is seen as rational, balanced and Arab-friendly."
Among the tiny minority that is supporting the Netherlands is Jubail-based chemical engineer Dhafir Al-Shehri. "Yes, I am supporting the Netherlands because they are very dedicated and have given their all in their quest for the Cup. They have come this far despite the fact that they do not have very many stars in their side."
According to Al-Shehri's reasoning, many Saudis are supporting Spain because Spain demolished Germany in the semi-final. "Ever since Germany defeated Saudi Arabia 8-0 in the 2002 World Cup, many Saudis have been baying for Germany's defeat. Saudis were also very upset with Germany for eliminating their initial favorite Argentina from this tournament. When Spain defeated Germany in the semi-final there was a collective sigh of relief."
While some have political reasons, some cultural, some historical, and some sporting abilities for supporting Spain, Jeddah-based medical doctor Zeid Alsharif has only this to say: "I am supporting Spain because Paul the octopus has picked it up as a favorite to win the final tonight. I am with the four-year-old tentacled tipster!"
By SIRAJ WAHAB | ARAB NEWS
Published: Jul 10, 2010 23:40 Updated: Jul 10, 2010 23:40
ALKHOBAR: An overwhelming majority of Saudi football fans will be rooting for Spain on Sunday night when it tangles with the Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup 2010 final at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.
There are a variety of reasons — some predictable and some bizarre — as to why the men and women of this nation of 28 million people are supporting the men in red.
For Jasim M. Al-Yaqout, the Eastern Province general manager of the Ministry of Culture and Information, it is the happy memories of Spain and Spaniards that makes him back the Spanish team.
"They are a very friendly people. I know this firsthand having visited Spain four times. Once I spent nearly six months in Seville in connection with the Saudi Expo there. I was also there during the opening of the Islamic center in Madrid years ago. They are a lovely people. Tonight my prayers are with them," said Al-Yaqout.
Riyadh-based columnist Suraya Al-Shehry is so excited about Spain that she thinks it will beat the Netherlands 3-1.
"I can even tell you who is going to score those three goals for Spain: David Villa, Sergio Ramos and Fernando Torres," she said.
She described the Spanish footballers as musicians. "There is so much symphony and rhythm in the way they play. They are not just musicians — they are magicians. Their wizardry with the ball in their semifinal against the Germans was magnificent. The moment they have the ball ... whirrrrrrr, they go."
Such is her and her daughters' passion for Spain that Al-Shehry has painted her TV lounge red to go with the Spanish team color. "Even the food that we will serve tonight will have a Spanish theme, and there will be strawberry juice to celebrate the color of our team."
And if all that is not enough, Al-Shehry also has a vuvuzela. "We will blow this plastic horn every time Spanish players take control of the ball," she said while laughing gregariously over the phone during the interview.
Abdul Aziz Arrubkan, the UN secretary-general's special envoy for humanitarian affairs, told Arab News from New York that he also is rooting for Spain. "Football aficionados dutifully follow the Spanish leagues in Saudi Arabia. Barcelona, Real Madrid, to name just two Spanish clubs, are household names in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. Therefore, there is a sense of familiarity toward Spain," he explained.
Arrubkan also liked the shape 2010 World Cup has taken in the last four games. "Spain has never been in the finals. The Netherlands has been, but they've never won the cup. All this is good for the game. Nobody likes to see the same countries winning four years after four years. This is welcome relief."
Jeddah-based businessman Muhammad Al-Adel is not much of a football fanatic, yet he will be in front of his large flat-screen home television tonight watching the game closely in the company of his friends and rooting for Spain. The reason? "One particular incident has changed my perception of the Dutch people forever. Once when I was traveling to Amsterdam, the Dutch woman at the airport had some kind of conniption when she looked at my Saudi passport. This was long before Sept. 11, 2001. She made faces and was very condescending. Ever since I have been with all those who are against that country," said Al-Adel. "Tonight I will hopefully have my revenge."
Former Saudi Aramco executive Bidah Mejdal Al-Gahtani will be in Barcelona tonight to watch the all-important game. Who is he supporting? "Spain," comes the instant reply. "Because they have taken what we call the sporting spirit to a whole new level. This is the team that has got the least number of cards. You can check that out. They play a fair game. They enjoy their game, and they ensure that those who are watching them are enjoying, as well. It is so much fun watching them in action."
Al-Gahtani said one big advantage for Spain is the lack of over-hyped and over-rated players. "This tournament has demonstrated that individuals do not matter. Look at how the top players have fallen by the wayside. It is all teamwork. Spain is the best example of that. Tonight will be their night."
"Spain, Spain, Spain," said Lina Almaeena, the Jeddah United executive director and captain of the Women's Basketball Division. "There are many reasons why I am supporting Spain, but the most important of them is the cultural affinity that we share with Spain. This is the country that was under Muslim rule for 800 years. And because of that there are so many things that are common between us and the Spaniards. They have similar family values as we do. They are very protective of their families just as we are. We have known Spain as Al-Andalus. That word creates some kind of an aura in our minds ... I know it is a bit philosophical, but that is the primary reason I am cheering for Spain."
Most Saudis referred to what Lina Almaeena described as the aura of Al-Andalus.
"It is natural for Saudis to support Spain," explained Riyadh-based historian Hatoon Al-Fassi, who herself is no fan of the game. "There is this nostalgia about Spain, and why should there not be? We have had 800 years of relationship with that country. We are historically and geographically closer to Spain than other European countries," Al-Fassi said. "No wonder, we have streets, districts and towns named after Al-Andalus."
According to her, when it comes to favoring one or the other country in such high-profile tournaments, the sense of history and current affairs do play a part in the choices people make. "Arabs and Muslims are politically conscious people. They will always try to find out who is on their side and who is not in the political arena. Then there is the Palestinian issue. People here are aware that most of the European countries are pro-Israel and that they indulge in promoting Islamophobia. For Spain, there is some kind of sympathy because its current government is seen as rational, balanced and Arab-friendly."
Among the tiny minority that is supporting the Netherlands is Jubail-based chemical engineer Dhafir Al-Shehri. "Yes, I am supporting the Netherlands because they are very dedicated and have given their all in their quest for the Cup. They have come this far despite the fact that they do not have very many stars in their side."
According to Al-Shehri's reasoning, many Saudis are supporting Spain because Spain demolished Germany in the semi-final. "Ever since Germany defeated Saudi Arabia 8-0 in the 2002 World Cup, many Saudis have been baying for Germany's defeat. Saudis were also very upset with Germany for eliminating their initial favorite Argentina from this tournament. When Spain defeated Germany in the semi-final there was a collective sigh of relief."
While some have political reasons, some cultural, some historical, and some sporting abilities for supporting Spain, Jeddah-based medical doctor Zeid Alsharif has only this to say: "I am supporting Spain because Paul the octopus has picked it up as a favorite to win the final tonight. I am with the four-year-old tentacled tipster!"
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Surge of attacks kills 6 US troops, 12 Afghans
Jul 10, 7:46 PM EDT
By KAY JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer
Surge of attacks kills 6 US troops, 12 Afghans
Australian soldier killed by blast in Afghanistan
NATO blames communications error for Afghan deaths
In complex Afghan battle, bombs just one threat
US to spend $3B to combat Afghan homemade bombs
Interactives
Afghanistan War's 1,000 U.S. Troop Casualties
AP Photographer Caught in GunFire
WIlling to fight, unable to read
AP journalists wounded in Afghanistan
U.S. troops under attack
Marine allegedly faked injuries to get freebies
Buy AP Photo Reprints
Multimedia
US troops spending Christmas
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A wave of attacks killed six U.S. troops and at least a dozen civilians Saturday in Afghanistan's volatile south and east, as American reinforcements moving into Taliban-dominated areas face up to the fierce resistance they expected.
Increased U.S.-led military operations in the southern province of Kandahar are aimed at trying to break the Taliban's grip where they are strongest by delivering security and government services to win over Afghan people.
The hope is that once the tide begins to turn, more control can be handed to Afghan forces without fear that the Taliban might again seize power, bring back its harsh interpretation of Islamic law and resume sheltering al-Qaida terrorist leaders. Then U.S. troops could begin withdrawing in July 2011, in line with a timeline set by President Barack Obama.
Senior U.S. military officers have warned, however, that the fight in the Taliban's spiritual birthplace would lead to a rise in casualties for troops. June was the deadliest month of the nearly 9-year-old war, and July has kept pace.
On Saturday, two of the U.S. troops killed died in the south in separate roadside bombings. In Kandahar city, a remote-controlled bomb on a motorcycle exploded, setting cars ablaze and shattering windows at a popular shopping center. The provincial government said one passer-by was killed.
The other American service members died in the east: One as a result of small-arms fire, another by a roadside bomb, a third during an insurgent attack and the last in an accidental explosion. Their deaths raised to 23 the number of American troops killed so far this month. Last month, 103 international troops were killed, 60 of them Americans.
In the spring, as NATO began stepping up patrols in the south, Adm. Mike Mullen, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned reporters again that such a rise casualties would be inevitable. "I think we've been very clear for months now that this was going to be a very difficult fight in the south, and tried to set expectations, as tragic as it is, for these losses," said Mullen, who is Obama's top military adviser.
Progress has indeed proved slow, and the Afghan government is struggling to build trust, with many authorities seen as corrupt or unprofessional. Violence has also escalated as the insurgents work to sabotage Afghan authorities and kill foreign forces, sometimes with dramatic terrorist attacks, but most days with a steady flow of roadside bombs and small attacks.
In Saturday's deadliest attack, eastern border province of Paktia, unidentified gunmen killed 11 Pakistanis who had crossed into Afghanistan to buy supplies, according to Rohullah Samon, spokesman for the provincial governor.
Samon said 11 Shia minority Muslim tribesmen died and three people, including a child, were wounded in the ambush of their minibus in Chamkani district.
Elsewhere in Paktia, Afghan and international forces also said a combined commando unit killed a Taliban operative and captured eight others in an overnight raid, though local villagers later staged a small protest, saying the men were innocent civilians.
NATO spokesman Col. Wayne Shanks said the two guards were shot when they raised their weapons at the commandos and refused orders to put them down. He said the raid succeeded in capturing a Taliban-allied operative who supplied bomb-making material.
The international coalition has been aggressively stepping up such raids, trying to break up Taliban leadership and operations capability in a renewed push as 30,000 more American troops arrive to try to turn around the war.
The coalition say commando units have captured more than 100 senior and midlevel Taliban figures since April and killed dozens more. But the success rate has not made much of a dent in insurgent attacks.
On Saturday, an explosion tore through a NATO convoy traveling in the eastern province of Khost, though no one was killed. The German army later said two of its soldiers were slightly wounded by a roadside bomb in the northern province of Kunduz - the second homemade explosive attack on German troops in the area that day.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force has been in Afghanistan since shortly after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, when U.S.-backed forces toppled the regime that sheltered the al-Qaida terrorist leadership following the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.
---
Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez in Kabul and Mirwais Khan in Kandahar contributed to this report.
By KAY JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer
Surge of attacks kills 6 US troops, 12 Afghans
Australian soldier killed by blast in Afghanistan
NATO blames communications error for Afghan deaths
In complex Afghan battle, bombs just one threat
US to spend $3B to combat Afghan homemade bombs
Interactives
Afghanistan War's 1,000 U.S. Troop Casualties
AP Photographer Caught in GunFire
WIlling to fight, unable to read
AP journalists wounded in Afghanistan
U.S. troops under attack
Marine allegedly faked injuries to get freebies
Buy AP Photo Reprints
Multimedia
US troops spending Christmas
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A wave of attacks killed six U.S. troops and at least a dozen civilians Saturday in Afghanistan's volatile south and east, as American reinforcements moving into Taliban-dominated areas face up to the fierce resistance they expected.
Increased U.S.-led military operations in the southern province of Kandahar are aimed at trying to break the Taliban's grip where they are strongest by delivering security and government services to win over Afghan people.
The hope is that once the tide begins to turn, more control can be handed to Afghan forces without fear that the Taliban might again seize power, bring back its harsh interpretation of Islamic law and resume sheltering al-Qaida terrorist leaders. Then U.S. troops could begin withdrawing in July 2011, in line with a timeline set by President Barack Obama.
Senior U.S. military officers have warned, however, that the fight in the Taliban's spiritual birthplace would lead to a rise in casualties for troops. June was the deadliest month of the nearly 9-year-old war, and July has kept pace.
On Saturday, two of the U.S. troops killed died in the south in separate roadside bombings. In Kandahar city, a remote-controlled bomb on a motorcycle exploded, setting cars ablaze and shattering windows at a popular shopping center. The provincial government said one passer-by was killed.
The other American service members died in the east: One as a result of small-arms fire, another by a roadside bomb, a third during an insurgent attack and the last in an accidental explosion. Their deaths raised to 23 the number of American troops killed so far this month. Last month, 103 international troops were killed, 60 of them Americans.
In the spring, as NATO began stepping up patrols in the south, Adm. Mike Mullen, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned reporters again that such a rise casualties would be inevitable. "I think we've been very clear for months now that this was going to be a very difficult fight in the south, and tried to set expectations, as tragic as it is, for these losses," said Mullen, who is Obama's top military adviser.
Progress has indeed proved slow, and the Afghan government is struggling to build trust, with many authorities seen as corrupt or unprofessional. Violence has also escalated as the insurgents work to sabotage Afghan authorities and kill foreign forces, sometimes with dramatic terrorist attacks, but most days with a steady flow of roadside bombs and small attacks.
In Saturday's deadliest attack, eastern border province of Paktia, unidentified gunmen killed 11 Pakistanis who had crossed into Afghanistan to buy supplies, according to Rohullah Samon, spokesman for the provincial governor.
Samon said 11 Shia minority Muslim tribesmen died and three people, including a child, were wounded in the ambush of their minibus in Chamkani district.
Elsewhere in Paktia, Afghan and international forces also said a combined commando unit killed a Taliban operative and captured eight others in an overnight raid, though local villagers later staged a small protest, saying the men were innocent civilians.
Another, larger protest in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif involved another night raid that killed two security guards near a market earlier in the week.
A crowd of more than 1,000 crowd chanted "Death to America! Long live Islam!" Protesters said the security guards were unjustly killed when combined Afghan and international forces landed by helicopter at the bazaar before dawn Wednesday.
NATO spokesman Col. Wayne Shanks said the two guards were shot when they raised their weapons at the commandos and refused orders to put them down. He said the raid succeeded in capturing a Taliban-allied operative who supplied bomb-making material.
The international coalition has been aggressively stepping up such raids, trying to break up Taliban leadership and operations capability in a renewed push as 30,000 more American troops arrive to try to turn around the war.
The coalition say commando units have captured more than 100 senior and midlevel Taliban figures since April and killed dozens more. But the success rate has not made much of a dent in insurgent attacks.
On Saturday, an explosion tore through a NATO convoy traveling in the eastern province of Khost, though no one was killed. The German army later said two of its soldiers were slightly wounded by a roadside bomb in the northern province of Kunduz - the second homemade explosive attack on German troops in the area that day.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force has been in Afghanistan since shortly after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, when U.S.-backed forces toppled the regime that sheltered the al-Qaida terrorist leadership following the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.
---
Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez in Kabul and Mirwais Khan in Kandahar contributed to this report.
Friday, July 09, 2010
+102 killed, 111 injured in Mohmand suicide attack
Death toll from Pakistan bomb attack reaches 102
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Mon, Jul 5 2010
Villagers search through the rubble of their destroyed shops hit by a suicide bomb attack a day earlier, in Pakistan's northwestern Mohmand region July 10, 2010. The death toll from a suicide attack in a volatile Pashtun region on the Afghan border reached 102 on Saturday, showing militants continued ability to stage deadly strikes despite losing ground to troops in military offensives. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Taliban Movement of Pakistan, claimed responsibility for Friday's attack.
Credit: Reuters/Fayaz Aziz
By Izaz Mohmand
PESHAWAR | Sat Jul 10, 2010 6:34am EDT
PESHAWAR Pakistan (Reuters) - The death toll from a suicide attack in a volatile border region of Pakistan climbed to 102 on Saturday, showing the militants' continued ability to stage deadly strikes despite losing ground in army offensives.
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Taliban Movement of Pakistan, claimed responsibility for Friday's attack in Mohmand, a Pashtun region on the northwestern border with Afghanistan, where security forces have stepped up operations against militants in recent months.
Friday's attack is the deadliest Pakistan has suffered since an attack on a market in Peshawar in October last year that killed 105.
Five children, aged 5 to 10, and several women were among the dead, and the toll rose on Saturday as rescuers working throughout the night found more bodies in the rubble.
"We have recovered more bodies from the debris of dozens of shops that were razed to the ground by the blast and the number of dead has increased" to 102, said Rasool Khan, assistant political agent of Mohmand.
The bomber blew himself up outside Khan's office. There were mixed reports that a car bomb was the source of a possible second blast.
Late on Friday, a TTP spokesman in Mohmand who identified himself as Ikramullah Mohmand, said anti-Taliban tribal elders from various peace committees who had come to Khan's office were the target.
A senior elder and two others were killed in the attack.
Among nearly 80 wounded were several people displaced by fighting between security forces and militants, who were collecting relief goods near the blast side.
The latest militant attack underscored multiple security challenges facing nuclear-armed U.S. ally Pakistan, whose support is vital in attempts to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan, where U.S.-led NATO troops are fighting a raging Taliban insurgency.
The military has made progress over the past year when they pushed militants out of the Swat valley, northwest of Islamabad. In October the army began an offensive in the militants' South Waziristan bastion on the Afghan border.
The offensive was extended to Orakzai in March as many of the militants who fled the South Waziristan operation took refuge there and in Mohmand. Hundreds of militants have since been killed in air strikes in the two regions.
Troops killed 20 militants in an overnight clash in South Waziristan after insurgents attacked a military checkpost in their previous stronghold of Makeen, intelligence officials said. There was no independent confirmation of the casualties.
Despite losing ground in military offensives, militants have proven their ability to bounce back, responding with a barrage of bomb attacks in towns and cities, killing hundreds of people.
Two suicide bombers killed at least 42 people in an attack on Pakistan's most important Sufi shrine in the eastern city of Lahore last week.
While praising Pakistan's efforts to fight homegrown militants, the unabated violence is a source of worry for the United States, which also wants Islamabad to go after Afghan militants who cross the border to attack U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
In a separate incident in Afghanistan, suspected Taliban militants attacked a bus carrying Pakistani Shi'a tribesmen traveling from the Kurram tribal region and heading to Peshawar via Afghanistan, killing 11 and wounding one, residents and government officials said.
Pakistani tribesmen take a circuitous route through Afghanistan to travel between Kurram and Peshawar as the road linking the two regions is often closed because of militants and Pakistani Army operations.
(Writing by Augustine Anthony; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Jeremy Laurence)
------------
Updated at: 2355 PST, Friday, July 09, 2010 ShareThis story
PESHAWAR: The suicide attack in Yaka Ghand area of Mohmand Agency Friday killed 70 people and injured 111 others.
Outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan have claimed the responsibility of the attack. TTP spokesman Ikramullah Mohmand telephoned Geo News from unknown location and claimed the responsibility of the attack, saying the target were members of the Ambar Aman Committee who were present in Assistant Political Agent’s office at the time of the attack.
Sources said a suicide bomber blew up himself outside political agent’s office in Tehsil Yeka Ghand at 9:30 am on Friday. The high intensity blast, heard across a wide radius, completely destroyed 30 shops in Yaka Ghand bazaar including two hotels while roof of a nearby house caved in.
Political Agent Amjad Ali Khan told media that 65 people were killed and 104 wounded in the incident.
Four personnel of Khasadar Force are also among the dead. According to sources, several inmates escaped after the blast that brought down Yaka Ghand jail building.
Most of the injured are in critical condition and more deaths are feared.
Funeral prayers of 7 dead have been performed in Government College Yaka Ghand.
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* Fear belies Pakistan boasts of becalmed borderlands
Thu, Jul 8 2010
* Pakistan says forces kill 23 militants in northwest
Tue, Jul 6 2010
* Pakistan renews call for dialogue with some Taliban
Mon, Jul 5 2010
Villagers search through the rubble of their destroyed shops hit by a suicide bomb attack a day earlier, in Pakistan's northwestern Mohmand region July 10, 2010. The death toll from a suicide attack in a volatile Pashtun region on the Afghan border reached 102 on Saturday, showing militants continued ability to stage deadly strikes despite losing ground to troops in military offensives. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Taliban Movement of Pakistan, claimed responsibility for Friday's attack.
Credit: Reuters/Fayaz Aziz
By Izaz Mohmand
PESHAWAR | Sat Jul 10, 2010 6:34am EDT
PESHAWAR Pakistan (Reuters) - The death toll from a suicide attack in a volatile border region of Pakistan climbed to 102 on Saturday, showing the militants' continued ability to stage deadly strikes despite losing ground in army offensives.
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Taliban Movement of Pakistan, claimed responsibility for Friday's attack in Mohmand, a Pashtun region on the northwestern border with Afghanistan, where security forces have stepped up operations against militants in recent months.
Friday's attack is the deadliest Pakistan has suffered since an attack on a market in Peshawar in October last year that killed 105.
Five children, aged 5 to 10, and several women were among the dead, and the toll rose on Saturday as rescuers working throughout the night found more bodies in the rubble.
"We have recovered more bodies from the debris of dozens of shops that were razed to the ground by the blast and the number of dead has increased" to 102, said Rasool Khan, assistant political agent of Mohmand.
The bomber blew himself up outside Khan's office. There were mixed reports that a car bomb was the source of a possible second blast.
Late on Friday, a TTP spokesman in Mohmand who identified himself as Ikramullah Mohmand, said anti-Taliban tribal elders from various peace committees who had come to Khan's office were the target.
A senior elder and two others were killed in the attack.
Among nearly 80 wounded were several people displaced by fighting between security forces and militants, who were collecting relief goods near the blast side.
The latest militant attack underscored multiple security challenges facing nuclear-armed U.S. ally Pakistan, whose support is vital in attempts to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan, where U.S.-led NATO troops are fighting a raging Taliban insurgency.
The military has made progress over the past year when they pushed militants out of the Swat valley, northwest of Islamabad. In October the army began an offensive in the militants' South Waziristan bastion on the Afghan border.
The offensive was extended to Orakzai in March as many of the militants who fled the South Waziristan operation took refuge there and in Mohmand. Hundreds of militants have since been killed in air strikes in the two regions.
Troops killed 20 militants in an overnight clash in South Waziristan after insurgents attacked a military checkpost in their previous stronghold of Makeen, intelligence officials said. There was no independent confirmation of the casualties.
Despite losing ground in military offensives, militants have proven their ability to bounce back, responding with a barrage of bomb attacks in towns and cities, killing hundreds of people.
Two suicide bombers killed at least 42 people in an attack on Pakistan's most important Sufi shrine in the eastern city of Lahore last week.
While praising Pakistan's efforts to fight homegrown militants, the unabated violence is a source of worry for the United States, which also wants Islamabad to go after Afghan militants who cross the border to attack U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
In a separate incident in Afghanistan, suspected Taliban militants attacked a bus carrying Pakistani Shi'a tribesmen traveling from the Kurram tribal region and heading to Peshawar via Afghanistan, killing 11 and wounding one, residents and government officials said.
Pakistani tribesmen take a circuitous route through Afghanistan to travel between Kurram and Peshawar as the road linking the two regions is often closed because of militants and Pakistani Army operations.
(Writing by Augustine Anthony; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Jeremy Laurence)
------------
Updated at: 2355 PST, Friday, July 09, 2010 ShareThis story
PESHAWAR: The suicide attack in Yaka Ghand area of Mohmand Agency Friday killed 70 people and injured 111 others.
Outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan have claimed the responsibility of the attack. TTP spokesman Ikramullah Mohmand telephoned Geo News from unknown location and claimed the responsibility of the attack, saying the target were members of the Ambar Aman Committee who were present in Assistant Political Agent’s office at the time of the attack.
Sources said a suicide bomber blew up himself outside political agent’s office in Tehsil Yeka Ghand at 9:30 am on Friday. The high intensity blast, heard across a wide radius, completely destroyed 30 shops in Yaka Ghand bazaar including two hotels while roof of a nearby house caved in.
Political Agent Amjad Ali Khan told media that 65 people were killed and 104 wounded in the incident.
Four personnel of Khasadar Force are also among the dead. According to sources, several inmates escaped after the blast that brought down Yaka Ghand jail building.
Most of the injured are in critical condition and more deaths are feared.
Funeral prayers of 7 dead have been performed in Government College Yaka Ghand.
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Najam Sethi as next President of United Shattered Pakistan-Jugnu Mohsin
Najam Sethi (Urdu: نجم سیٹھی) is an award winning Pakistani journalist, editor, and media personality, is the editor-in-chief of The Friday Times, a Lahore based political weekly, and previously the editor of Daily Times and Daily Aajkal newspapers. He has been awarded the 2009 Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize of the World Association of Newspapers.[1]
Sethi and his publications have been in conflict with Pakistani governments on several occasions. In May 1999 he was imprisoned for one month without trial and released after an international outcry. Sethi had hoped that Musharraf would reform state and society as pledged and became critical when he didn't.
His wife, Jugnu Mohsin, edits the fashion fortnightly Good Times and is the managing editor and publisher of The Friday Times. Sethi was educated at Clare College, Cambridge. Mohsin was educated at New Hall Cambridge. Together, Najam and Jugnu have a son, Ali, a graduate of Harvard College, and a daughter, Mira, who is a junior at Wellesley College.
Sethi served in President Farooq Leghari's interim cabinet as Adviser on Political Affairs and Accountability after the fall of Benazir Bhutto's second government.
Foreign Policy magazine describes Najam Sethi as “ one of the country’s most respected political analysts”.[2]
On November 25, 2009, in an email sent to Daily Times online edition subscribers, Sethi announced his resignation from The Daily Times. Sethi announced that in addition to himself, "Khaled Ahmed (Contributing Editor) and Ejaz Haider (Op-Ed Editor) along with other senior staff" have also resigned.
----------
Jugnu Mohsin is a Pakistani publisher and editor of the Lahore-based The Friday Times, Pakistan's first English-language independent newsweekly.
Background
Born of a wealthy family with shrewd business acumen – her brother and father run a family owned leading food company [1]; her highly successful maternal uncle was a businessman who helped start up LUMS, now Pakistan's most prestigious management sciences university, and is a first cousin of Syeda Abida Hussain and Syed Fakhar Imam – Jugnu Mohsin was inspired by husband Najam Sethi to combine her money and cutting wit for civic purposes. She regards herself as holding "the Establishment" accountable. In 1984 Najam had been arrested under martial law for releasing books with his book publishing firm Vanguard Books. [2] The press hardly took notice and the couple were determined to set up their own paper.
In May 1989 the Lahore-based couple did just that, thus establishing Pakistan’s first independent English newsweekly[3] The Friday Times which has since been criticising successive governments with its outspoken equal opportunity criticism. The Friday Times was first published on 25 May 1989.
This, allies would maintain, is what lead to one eventful May 1999 when Sethi was dragged from his bedroom in the middle of the night and imprisoned in jail, where he was held for 25 days. Sethi’s piercing criticism of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, it is alleged, what the root cause – making the matter a freedom of press issue.[4]
Jugnu Mohsin rallied up support from Western allies - Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists, World Bank President James Wolfensohn, and US State Department spokesman, James Rubin – to exert pressure on Sharif’s regime for the immediate release of her husband. The sedition charges were finally dropped on June 2, but not without further government harassment, including calls for Sethi to be stripped of his status as a Muslim and have his name taken off voter lists.
In 1999 the couple were recognised for their bold contributions to journalism and both were recipients of the Committee to Protect Journalist’s International Press Freedom award. [5]
In addition to being the Managing Editor and Publisher of The Friday Times, Jugnu Mohsin launched GoodTimes [6] as its Publisher and Editor in January 2005.
Jugnu’s witty satirical pieces at the back page of The Friday Times in the form of spoofs of incumbent administration and opposition. Her current spoof columns "Ittefaq Nama" and "Mush and Bush" poke fun at ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Presidents George W. Bush and Pervez Musharraf.
Jugnu will be soon publishing a collection of the profiles of Pakistani luminaries that she wrote for The Friday Times’ features section in a book. Ever tireless, the husband-wife duo are also set to launch a television network broadcasted from Dubai to the Subcontinent.
Jugnu Mohsin received her LLB degree from Cambridge University. Before partnering her husband professionally, Jugnu was a practicing lawyer and member of the Women's Action Forum.
Sethi and his publications have been in conflict with Pakistani governments on several occasions. In May 1999 he was imprisoned for one month without trial and released after an international outcry. Sethi had hoped that Musharraf would reform state and society as pledged and became critical when he didn't.
His wife, Jugnu Mohsin, edits the fashion fortnightly Good Times and is the managing editor and publisher of The Friday Times. Sethi was educated at Clare College, Cambridge. Mohsin was educated at New Hall Cambridge. Together, Najam and Jugnu have a son, Ali, a graduate of Harvard College, and a daughter, Mira, who is a junior at Wellesley College.
Sethi served in President Farooq Leghari's interim cabinet as Adviser on Political Affairs and Accountability after the fall of Benazir Bhutto's second government.
Foreign Policy magazine describes Najam Sethi as “ one of the country’s most respected political analysts”.[2]
On November 25, 2009, in an email sent to Daily Times online edition subscribers, Sethi announced his resignation from The Daily Times. Sethi announced that in addition to himself, "Khaled Ahmed (Contributing Editor) and Ejaz Haider (Op-Ed Editor) along with other senior staff" have also resigned.
----------
Jugnu Mohsin is a Pakistani publisher and editor of the Lahore-based The Friday Times, Pakistan's first English-language independent newsweekly.
Background
Born of a wealthy family with shrewd business acumen – her brother and father run a family owned leading food company [1]; her highly successful maternal uncle was a businessman who helped start up LUMS, now Pakistan's most prestigious management sciences university, and is a first cousin of Syeda Abida Hussain and Syed Fakhar Imam – Jugnu Mohsin was inspired by husband Najam Sethi to combine her money and cutting wit for civic purposes. She regards herself as holding "the Establishment" accountable. In 1984 Najam had been arrested under martial law for releasing books with his book publishing firm Vanguard Books. [2] The press hardly took notice and the couple were determined to set up their own paper.
In May 1989 the Lahore-based couple did just that, thus establishing Pakistan’s first independent English newsweekly[3] The Friday Times which has since been criticising successive governments with its outspoken equal opportunity criticism. The Friday Times was first published on 25 May 1989.
This, allies would maintain, is what lead to one eventful May 1999 when Sethi was dragged from his bedroom in the middle of the night and imprisoned in jail, where he was held for 25 days. Sethi’s piercing criticism of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, it is alleged, what the root cause – making the matter a freedom of press issue.[4]
Jugnu Mohsin rallied up support from Western allies - Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists, World Bank President James Wolfensohn, and US State Department spokesman, James Rubin – to exert pressure on Sharif’s regime for the immediate release of her husband. The sedition charges were finally dropped on June 2, but not without further government harassment, including calls for Sethi to be stripped of his status as a Muslim and have his name taken off voter lists.
In 1999 the couple were recognised for their bold contributions to journalism and both were recipients of the Committee to Protect Journalist’s International Press Freedom award. [5]
In addition to being the Managing Editor and Publisher of The Friday Times, Jugnu Mohsin launched GoodTimes [6] as its Publisher and Editor in January 2005.
Jugnu’s witty satirical pieces at the back page of The Friday Times in the form of spoofs of incumbent administration and opposition. Her current spoof columns "Ittefaq Nama" and "Mush and Bush" poke fun at ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Presidents George W. Bush and Pervez Musharraf.
Jugnu will be soon publishing a collection of the profiles of Pakistani luminaries that she wrote for The Friday Times’ features section in a book. Ever tireless, the husband-wife duo are also set to launch a television network broadcasted from Dubai to the Subcontinent.
Jugnu Mohsin received her LLB degree from Cambridge University. Before partnering her husband professionally, Jugnu was a practicing lawyer and member of the Women's Action Forum.
36 Iraqi Shi'ite pilgrims killed by bombers
07 Jul 2010 20:33:27 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Attack near bridge where '05 stampede killed 1,000
* Shi'ite pilgrimage under tight security
* Authorities ban motorcycles, bikes to protect pilgrims (Add roadside bomb kills six, paragraphs 1, 4)
By Muhanad Mohammed
BAGHDAD, July 7 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed at least 30 Iraqi Shi'ite pilgrims on Wednesday en route to a shrine and wounded 75, while a roadside bomb killed another six despite heavy security during a religious rite, security sources said.
The suicide bombing took place just short of a bridge where 1,000 Shi'ite pilgrims died in a stampede during the same festival in 2005 after hearing rumours of a bomb.
The attacker was wearing a belt full of explosives, a police source said. Suicide bombings are often a hallmark of Sunni Islamist al Qaeda, which regards Shi'ite Muslims as apostates.
The roadside bomb in the western district of Harithiya, a mainly Sunni area that the Shi'ite pilgrims walk through to get to the Imam Moussa al-Kadhim shrine, killed six and wounded 30, an Interior Ministry source said. Protecting the festival is a key test for the Iraqi security forces during a political vacuum left by an election in March that produced no outright winner and as yet no new government, and ahead of the end of U.S. combat operations in August. Hundreds of thousands of Shi'ites have been streaming through the streets of Baghdad to commemorate the death of a medieval Shi'ite holy man. The festival peaks on Thursday.
Security officials assigned 200,000 police and soldiers to protect the pilgrims as they headed to the shrine in northern Baghdad. They imposed a city-wide ban on motorcycles and bicycles to help prevent attacks.
Iraqi military helicopters circled over the golden-domed shrine and snipers perched on nearby rooftops, using binoculars to scan the crowds below for signs of trouble.
In addition to the suicide bombing near the bridge, and the roadside bomb in Harithiya, bombs in east, southwest and southeast Baghdad killed two more people and wounded 33.
On Tuesday, mortar rounds and bombs killed six pilgrims.
Last year, the pilgrimage provided the first big test for Iraqi police and soldiers after U.S. troops withdrew from urban centres at the end of June. The U.S. military will end combat operations this Aug. 31 ahead of a full withdrawal next year.
'WE WILL FOIL THEIR VICIOUS ACTS'
"We expect the terrorist groups to launch terrorist attacks against pilgrims during the coming hours, but our contingency plans will foil their vicious acts," Major General Ahmed al-Saedi, commander of the Iraqi 6th Army Division in charge of the Kadhimiya district, said earlier in the day.
Barricades kept vehicles away from the shrine and security forces used police and military vehicles to transport pilgrims.
The Shi'ite pilgrims appeared undeterred.
"I'm a Shi'ite and I have to stay faithful to my sect and imams," said Layla Abbas, 63, who was pushed in a wheelchair by her daughter toward the shrine. "I'm disabled yes, but my loyalty to Shi'ite imams is not."
Overall violence has fallen sharply, but major bombings, often claimed by al Qaeda in Iraq, remain common.
Sectarian tensions have been running high since the inconclusive March 7 parliamentary election that Iraqis hoped would bring stable government to their nation more than seven years after the U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.
Kadhim Chillab, 54, had politics on his mind as he walked to the shrine in the heat, covering his head with a handkerchief.
"I'm walking to Imam Kadhim to show my loyalty as a Shi'ite and on this occasion I also ask God to enlighten politicians' minds to end our suffering and form the government," he said. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed, Waleed Ibrahim and Reuters Television, writing by Jim Loney and Michael Christie; editing by Matthew Jones)
Source: Reuters
* Attack near bridge where '05 stampede killed 1,000
* Shi'ite pilgrimage under tight security
* Authorities ban motorcycles, bikes to protect pilgrims (Add roadside bomb kills six, paragraphs 1, 4)
By Muhanad Mohammed
BAGHDAD, July 7 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed at least 30 Iraqi Shi'ite pilgrims on Wednesday en route to a shrine and wounded 75, while a roadside bomb killed another six despite heavy security during a religious rite, security sources said.
The suicide bombing took place just short of a bridge where 1,000 Shi'ite pilgrims died in a stampede during the same festival in 2005 after hearing rumours of a bomb.
The attacker was wearing a belt full of explosives, a police source said. Suicide bombings are often a hallmark of Sunni Islamist al Qaeda, which regards Shi'ite Muslims as apostates.
The roadside bomb in the western district of Harithiya, a mainly Sunni area that the Shi'ite pilgrims walk through to get to the Imam Moussa al-Kadhim shrine, killed six and wounded 30, an Interior Ministry source said. Protecting the festival is a key test for the Iraqi security forces during a political vacuum left by an election in March that produced no outright winner and as yet no new government, and ahead of the end of U.S. combat operations in August. Hundreds of thousands of Shi'ites have been streaming through the streets of Baghdad to commemorate the death of a medieval Shi'ite holy man. The festival peaks on Thursday.
Security officials assigned 200,000 police and soldiers to protect the pilgrims as they headed to the shrine in northern Baghdad. They imposed a city-wide ban on motorcycles and bicycles to help prevent attacks.
Iraqi military helicopters circled over the golden-domed shrine and snipers perched on nearby rooftops, using binoculars to scan the crowds below for signs of trouble.
In addition to the suicide bombing near the bridge, and the roadside bomb in Harithiya, bombs in east, southwest and southeast Baghdad killed two more people and wounded 33.
On Tuesday, mortar rounds and bombs killed six pilgrims.
Last year, the pilgrimage provided the first big test for Iraqi police and soldiers after U.S. troops withdrew from urban centres at the end of June. The U.S. military will end combat operations this Aug. 31 ahead of a full withdrawal next year.
'WE WILL FOIL THEIR VICIOUS ACTS'
"We expect the terrorist groups to launch terrorist attacks against pilgrims during the coming hours, but our contingency plans will foil their vicious acts," Major General Ahmed al-Saedi, commander of the Iraqi 6th Army Division in charge of the Kadhimiya district, said earlier in the day.
Barricades kept vehicles away from the shrine and security forces used police and military vehicles to transport pilgrims.
The Shi'ite pilgrims appeared undeterred.
"I'm a Shi'ite and I have to stay faithful to my sect and imams," said Layla Abbas, 63, who was pushed in a wheelchair by her daughter toward the shrine. "I'm disabled yes, but my loyalty to Shi'ite imams is not."
Overall violence has fallen sharply, but major bombings, often claimed by al Qaeda in Iraq, remain common.
Sectarian tensions have been running high since the inconclusive March 7 parliamentary election that Iraqis hoped would bring stable government to their nation more than seven years after the U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.
Kadhim Chillab, 54, had politics on his mind as he walked to the shrine in the heat, covering his head with a handkerchief.
"I'm walking to Imam Kadhim to show my loyalty as a Shi'ite and on this occasion I also ask God to enlighten politicians' minds to end our suffering and form the government," he said. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed, Waleed Ibrahim and Reuters Television, writing by Jim Loney and Michael Christie; editing by Matthew Jones)
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