FIVE ARMED attackers wearing explosive vests yesterday killed twelve people and wounded 36 in an assault on a military headquarters in central Baghdad.
One of the attackers exploded as he left the minivan transporting the unit, two were shot by Iraqi troops, and the two remaining men entered the complex.
US forces based at the compound were called upon to help Iraqi troops engaged in a firefight with the bombers before they were killed. Five soldiers were among the dead and 15 were wounded.
The toll was the highest since 61 people were killed three weeks ago at the same facility by suicide bombers when they infiltrated a crowd of men gathered outside an army recruiting centre.
Yesterday’s attack was the first since the US declared an end to its combat mission. The tasks of the remaining 50,000 US troops are to “advise and assist” Iraq’s fledgling security forces.
While fatalities are dramatically lower than the 3,000-a-month average during the 2006-2007 sectarian conflict, 535 Iraqis died in July and 426 in August. Ten days ago, caretaker prime minister Nuri al-Maliki called on the country’s forces to observe a red alert.
Iraq’s politicians have been repeatedly warned by Washington and local analysts that the security situation is deteriorating due to the political vacuum created by the failure of faction leaders to form a government following the March 7th parliamentary election.
This process has been complicated by last Friday’s decision of the Iraqi National Alliance (INA), a Shia religious bloc, to back the candidacy of Adel Abdul Mahdi, current Shia vice president.
He belongs to the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), a party born and bred in Iran, that formed an electoral bloc with the followers of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, now based in Iran.
Mr Abdul Mahdi was the SIIC’s 2006 candidate for the premiership but was rejected by the Sadrists who agreed on Mr Maliki as a compromise. Under pressure from Tehran, these two parties formed a new alliance with Mr Maliki’s Shia sectarian State of Law bloc, but they have called for him to be dropped. By nominating Mr Abdul Mahdi, the INA and Sadrists have stepped up their campaign against Mr Maliki, who is accused of dictating policy and filling the administration and security bodies with his supporters.
For the past six months Mr Maliki has been challenged for the top job by Ayad Allawi, who heads the secular Iraqiya bloc. This won 91 seats in the 325-member assembly, edging out of the lead State of Law, with 89 seats.
The INA has 70 seats. Mr Allawi has not been able to form a majority coalition because separatist Kurds and religious Shias installed in Baghdad by the US do not want a government with a strong representation of secularists and Sunnis who do not belong to a religious faction.
US leaders said last week that the Iraq war was in its final stages, but many Iraqis do not believe their army and police are ready for the task. - (Additional reporting: Bloomberg)
