Six car bombs exploded in the Iraqi capital Monday, killing at least six
people and wounding dozens, and police discovered the bodies of 17 Iraqis —
apparent victims of sectarian slayings the United States hopes the country's new
government can put to an end.
Iraqi policemen inspect the site where two car
bombs exploded Monday April 24, 2006 near Mustansiriya University in
Baghdad, Iraq. Six car bombs exploded in the capital Monday, killing at
least six people and wounding dozens, as politicians met to try to
finalize a new Cabinet, and Police discovered bodies of 17 Iraqis _
apparent victims of sectarian killings that the U.S. hopes the new
government can end. [AP] |
Elsewhere, a roadside bomb, two drive-by shootings and a mortar round killed
six other people, police said.
The violence underlines the challenges as prime minister-designate Jawad
al-Maliki begins the tough task of assembling a Cabinet out of Iraq's Shiite,
Sunni and Kurdish parties.
On Monday morning, political parties met separately in Baghdad to discuss
proposed Cabinet ministers and were to meet as a group later in the day, said
Kamal al-Saeidi of al-Maliki's Dawa party.
A day earlier, President Bush called al-Maliki, the Iraqi president and the
parliament speaker — all named on Saturday — and urged the quick formation of a
coalition government. Al-Maliki, a Shiite, has 30 days to choose a Cabinet, but
the political parties are under enormous pressure — from Americans and even
Shiite religious leaders — to move quickly without the often intractable
haggling over ministries.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, a key player in protracted political
negotiations since Iraq's Dec. 15 elections, repeated his call for the quick
creation of a Cabinet of "competent" ministers — implying those chosen for their
skills and not sectarian or political ties.
The United States is hoping the new government will unify Iraq's bitterly
divided factions behind a program aimed at reining in both the Sunni-led
insurgency and the Shiite-Sunni killings that has escalated during months
without a stable government.
Meanwhile, violence continued to ravage parts of the country.
Baghdad's first car bomb exploded during morning rush hour on a major street
near the Tigris river, close to a complex of government buildings, a hospital
and a bus station. Three people were killed and 25 wounded.
Two hours later, bombs hidden in two cars parked near Mustansiriya University
in eastern Baghdad exploded, killing three civilians, including a 10-year-old
boy, and wounding 22 people, said police Lt. Bila Ali.
A car bomb also exploded near a square near a U.S. military convoy in central
Baghdad, wounding at least 11 civilians, including a young girl, said police
Maj. Abbas Mohammed Selman. U.S. forces closed off the area, and it was not
immediately known if there were American casualties.
Bombs in two cars parked about 100 yards apart then exploded one after
another near Iraqi police patrols in the New Baghdad part of the capital,
wounding three policemen and three civilians, said police Lt. Ali Abass.