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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Baghdad attack targets Shiite party |
| 2005-01-18 |
| BAGHDAD, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Two people were killed and five others injured Tuesday in an attack on the offices of a major Shiite party in Baghdad, reports said. Witnesses said a suicide bomber stormed one roadblock but was stopped at the second by guards who opened fire on his car and managed to keep him from reaching the offices of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, known as Sciri, in the posh neighborhood of Jadriah in central Baghdad. The blast killed two guards, wounded five others and destroyed three cars. It also smashed the windows of the building housing Sciri's offices. Suicide car bombs have become a daily occurrence in Iraq as the date of elections draws nearer. The Shiite party is expected to do well in the poll set for Jan. 30. Sciri leaders have described attacks on their party as an attempt to provoke sectarian conflict with the minority Sunni Muslim community, some of whose parties are boycotting the election over security concerns. In another development, kidnappers of the Catholic bishop of Mosul freed him Tuesday, al-Jazeera television reported. Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa was released a day after being abducted in the northern city amid reports of a ransom demand. No ransom was believed paid. |
| Posted by:Steve |