Two Baghdad blasts kill more than a dozen
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-20 08:39

Two near-simultaneous bombings targeted a crowded downtown Baghdad coffee shop and a nearby restaurant Thursday, killing more than a dozen people.

The attacks came as a foreign assessment team reported evidence of fraud in the Dec. 15 elections, but did not endorse calls for a rerun.

The bombings occurred despite government moves to heighten security as the election commission prepares to announce the election results. The announcement, which could come Friday, sets the stage for talks on a new national unity government U.S. officials hope will help calm the insurgency and enable the United States to begin withdrawing its 140,000 troops.

The first explosion occurred at a coffee shop on bustling Saadoun Street in the heart of Baghdad. Seconds later, a blast caused by a planted bomb rocked a restaurant just down the street.

Some officials said the first blast was triggered by a suicide attacker wearing an explosive vest, while others insisted both were caused by bombs detonated by remote control.

Locals pick through the damage from two bomb attacks, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq.[AP]

Officials variously reported the death toll between 13 and 25. Police Lt. Osama Mohammed blamed the confusion on miscounting of bodies because the blast sites were so close.

The explosions shattered shop windows and destroyed several cars. Wooden tables and chairs were strewn over the bloodstained pavement as rescue workers treated the wounded. Two men sobbed beside the bodies of two men covered with bloodstained blankets outside the coffee shop.

The mother of abducted American Jill Carroll, meanwhile, appealed for her daughter's release. Her captors have threatened to kill the journalist unless U.S. authorities release all Iraqi women in military custody by Friday night. Muslim leaders in Iraq and elsewhere joined in the appeal.

Mary Beth Carroll, speaking on CNN Thursday, said video images of her daughter in captivity, aired by Al-Jazeera television, gave her hope she is alive but also have "shaken us about her fate."

"I, her father and her sister are appealing directly to her captors to release this young woman who has worked so hard to show the sufferings of Iraqis to the world," the mother said.

The U.S. military has said eight Iraqi women are in military detention. An Iraqi government commission reviewing detainee cases recommended to U.S. authorities Monday that six of them be released.

Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim Ali said the six women would be freed next week but "not part of any swap with any kidnappers."

However, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said no prisoner release was imminent.

Thursday's blasts were part of a surge in violence in Iraq this week. U.S. and Iraqi officials have predicted a spike in attacks when the election figures are released.

Maj. Gen. Mahdi Sabih Hashim said Thursday that heightened security would be in effect nationwide in the "coming days." He gave no details, but said authorities intend to go after "terrorists deep in their hideouts."

Preliminary reports indicate an alliance of Shiite Muslim religious parties won the most seats in the 275-member parliament but not enough to govern without coalition partners, including Sunni Arabs and Kurds. The Shiite alliance dominates the current government.

Final results have been withheld pending a report by a foreign assessment team into allegations of fraud leveled by major Sunni Arab parties. On Thursday, the team released its report saying it found numerous violations and indications of fraud. But it did not call for a new vote, as some Sunnis had demanded.

The International Mission for Iraqi Elections praised the ability to hold elections during a raging war and said there was an "urgent need ... for a formation of a government of true national unity."

There was no official response from the Iraqi government. However, an official in Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's office said the report "confirms the fairness of the elections." He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Sunni politician Saleh al-Mutlaq, an outspoken critic of the December balloting, said the report was contradictory because it cited irregularities "but then says the election commission was not prepared for this kind of a job."

Officials said the first announcement of results would be limited to contests for 230 seats chosen by district. The other 45 seats are to be allocated under a complicated formula designed to enable small parties to enter the legislature based on the number of votes they received nationwide. It was unclear when distribution of those seats would be announced.

After election results are announced, the parliament must choose a new government, including a president, prime minister and Cabinet. The United States hopes an inclusive government can win the trust of Sunni Arabs, which make up the backbone of the insurgency.

However, Iraq's most powerful Shiite politician predicted Sunni Arab participation alone will not be enough to persuade Islamic extremists and Saddam Hussein loyalists to abandon the insurgency.

Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, head of the country's largest Shiite party, said in an interview with The Associated Press that Sunni Arabs, who dominated political life for generations, must accept the "new reality" in Iraq.

"Every day we are getting closer to accepting this reality. But there are some groups that will not accept this," al-Hakim said, citing religious extremists and Saddam loyalists. "Those people will continue confronting the government. ... Those people should be confronted firmly by the government."