January 4, 2005
CNN
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Baghdad Governor Ali Al-Haidri was assassinated Tuesday morning in Baghdad, according to an Iraq Interior Ministry official.
One of the governor's bodyguards was killed and two wounded in the road ambush, officials said.
Witnesses said there was an intense gunbattle between the assassins and the governor's bodyguards.
Al-Haidri survived a previous assassination attempt in September when his convoy was ambushed by attackers using a roadside bomb and firing machine guns, the Interior Ministry said.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, speaking to reporters in Thailand, said he was saddened by the assassination report.
"It once again shows that there are these murderers and terrorists, former regime elements in Iraq that don't want to see an election," Powell said. "They want to go back to the tyranny of the Saddam Hussein regime, and that's not going to happen. The Iraqi people don't want it to happen.
"The Iraqi interim government is determined to fight this insurgency, and you can be sure that the coalition will do everything it can to fight the insurgency so that the Iraqi people can have a successful election at the end of the month."
Also on Tuesday, a suicide truck bomb killed 10 people and wounded 60 others near Baghdad's Green Zone, where the Iraq government and U.S. Embassy are based.
Eight of the dead were Iraqi police commandos and two were civilians, an Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman said.
The explosion happened near an Iraqi Security Forces compound and a palace used by coalition forces at about 8:45 a.m. (12:45 a.m. ET) Tuesday, according to an Iraqi police spokesman.
The truck was a fuel tanker laden with explosives, the Interior spokesman said.
It was the second time in as many days that the Green Zone area was targeted by a bomb.
On Monday, a car bomb exploded at a checkpoint west of the Green Zone, hitting a three-vehicle civilian convoy. There was no immediate word of casualties.
The bomb exploded at a checkpoint used by Green Zone personnel to get to and from Baghdad's airport, officials said.
Earlier Monday, a suicide car bomb attack near the political party headquarters of interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi killed at least two Iraqi police officers.
A U.S. military spokesman said three Iraqi police officers were killed in addition to the bomber. But in a written statement, the Iraqi Police Services said two police were killed and 12 people wounded, including seven officers.
A hospital reported receiving three bodies.
An orange and white vehicle loaded with explosives tried to ram through a police checkpoint, the U.S. spokesman said.
The police statement said Iraqi officers shot at the vehicle, preventing the driver from crashing through the checkpoint.
The explosion did not damage Allawi's Iraqi National Accord headquarters -- which was about 400 yards from the checkpoint, an employee of the party said. Allawi was not near the scene of the blast, the employee said.
The street where the party headquarters is located also houses offices of many other political leaders.
The militant group Jaish Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the attack, citing Iraq's January 30 elections.
In an unverified claim posted on its Web site, the group said it launched the attack "as the infidels were preparing to have a meeting to discuss the elections." The group said it killed guards who were protecting the building.
Jaish Ansar al-Sunna has claimed responsibility for previous attacks in Iraq, including a December 21 bombing that killed 22 people at a U.S. base near the northern city of Mosul. (Full story)
The Web site message warned of future attacks: "We will finish you one at a time."
Earlier Monday, a suicide bomb attack killed four Iraqi soldiers and wounded 14 other people at a checkpoint in Balad, north of Baghdad, a U.S. military spokesman said.
A fourth bomb attack Monday wounded two U.S. soldiers riding in a humvee along a northern Baghdad road, the military said.
The attacks are the latest against Iraqi authorities, including soldiers, police and politicians, in advance of this month's elections. U.S. and Iraqi officials have warned insurgents would likely step up attacks in an attempt to derail the elections.
Iraqi voters are expected to choose a 275-member transitional national assembly. That body will put together a permanent constitution that will go before voters in a referendum. If the law is approved, the plan calls for elections for a permanent government.
Insurgent attacks have prompted calls from many Iraqis to delay the January vote. Iraq's interim government and the United States appear determined to leave the date unchanged.
Other developments
# A U.S. Marine was killed in action Tuesday morning "while conducting security and stabilization operations in the Al Anbar Province" of Iraq, the U.S. military said. This latest death brings to 1,335 the number of American troops killed in the Iraqi war beginning in March, 2003.
# A surprisingly frank hourlong call-in program, "The Iraqi Podium," is giving Iraqis the chance to pepper interim Prime Minister Allawi with questions, from the mundane to the serious. Judging by the show's popularity, Iraqis are taking advantage. (Full story)
CNN's Arwa Damon, Auday Sadik and Mohammad Tawfeeq contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/04/iraq.main/index.html