Suicide bomber kills seven outside Iraqi ministry

A SUICIDE bomber detonated a car bomb yesterday at a checkpoint leading to the Iraqi interior ministry, killing five policemen, two civilians and wounding 32, officials reported.

Two soldiers and two bystanders were also killed by a roadside bomb in the Abu Ghraib area in Anbar province west of Baghdad.

The attacks have ratcheted up tension, already high following last Thursday’s 14 co-ordinated attacks which killed 72 people and wounded 200 at 11 locations around the capital.

Although officials blamed last week’s strikes on al-Qaeda – which may be re-emerging since the withdrawal of the last US combat troops – a senior police source said the authorities believed Sunni insurgents may have hit the ministry because of mounting tensions between prime minister Nuri al-Maliki and the Sunni community.

Many Iraqis, however, blame the government for failing to establish an effective security force during the nearly nine years since the US invaded and occupied Iraq, dismantled its army, police and administration.

Mr Maliki has been personally criticised because he has retained the interior and defence ministry portfolios and, effectively, commands the 800,000-strong security and armed forces.

The bombing coincided with a call for the dissolution of the national assembly and new elections by Bahaa al-Araji, leader of the parliamentary faction of the movement loyal to radical Shia cleric Muqtada Sadr, kingmaker in the coalition government headed by Mr Maliki.

The Sadrists, pressed by Tehran to back Mr Maliki’s bid for the premiership, have expressed exasperation over his handling of affairs. The Sadrists reluctantly agreed to enter into partnership with Mr Maliki after he pledged to form a “unity” government by including the secular Iraqiya party that commands the support of 80 per cent of the country’s Sunnis and secularists.

Last week the prime minister alienated Iraqiya by accusing Sunni vice-president Tareq al-Hashemi of conspiring with his bodyguards to commit terrorist attacks and carry out a bombing near parliament. Mr Hashemi took refuge in the Kurdish autonomous area and refuses to return to Baghdad where he says he will not receive a fair trial.

Mr Maliki also called for the removal of Sunni deputy prime minister Saleh al-Mutlak after he branded the prime minister a dictator.

Iraqiya, the largest bloc in the assembly, withdrew its legislators from the house which is in recess and its ministers from the government. Today could be crucial for the survival of the unity administration as the cabinet is due to convene with or without the Iraqiya ministers who have been warned by Mr Maliki that he will appoint replacements if they boycott the cabinet.

The National Alliance, a coalition of largely Shia sectarian parties, and US vice-president Joe Biden have tried to mediate between Mr Maliki and Iraqiya. Analysts suggest that Iraqiya ministers, who have previously defied the rulings of bloc leader Ayad Allawi, may decide to attend the meeting in order to retain the advantages they enjoy as senior office holders.