BAGHDAD, 18 January 2005 — In a series of brazen assaults yesterday that killed more than two dozen people, gunmen kidnapped a Catholic archbishop and targeted security forces. A suicide bomber attacked US Marines in Ramadi, where two Shiites were beheaded and their bodies left on a sidewalk.
The top US general here predicted more violence on the Jan. 30 balloting but pledged to do “everything in our power” to ensure safety. US and Iraqi authorities hope for a substantial turnout, especially from the long-suppressed Shiite majority.
In Mosul, Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa, 66, of the Syrian Catholic Church, was seized while walking in front of his church, a priest said on condition of anonymity. No group claimed responsibility, but The Vatican condemned the abduction as a “terrorist act.
The deadliest attacks occurred in the three insurgent flashpoint cities north and west of Baghdad in areas where insurgents are seeking to derail the balloting.
In Buhriz, 55 kilometers (35 miles) north of Baghdad, gunmen attacked an Iraqi National Guard checkpoint at the provincial broadcasting center, killing eight soldiers and wounding four. A suicide driver blasted a police station in Baiji, 250 kilometers north of the capital, killing seven policemen and wounding 25 people.
A US spokesman said Marines suffered an undisclosed number of casualties in a suicide car bombing in Ramadi, 110 kilometers west of Baghdad. The Marines were sent to check a suspicious vehicle and when they arrived, they came under small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire and the vehicle exploded.
“There were US casualties,” 1st Lt. Lyle Gilbert said. He declined to give further details, citing security.
Also in Ramadi, officials yesterday found six bodies — five civilians and one Iraqi soldier — each bearing handwritten notes declaring them collaborators, officials said. Four had been shot but two were beheaded, their blood-soaked bodies left where they died. A note left beside the bodies said they were Shiites who confessed to spying for the Americans. They were seized after leaving an American garrison in the middle of the city, the note said.
Shiites have been targets of intimidation because they are expected to turn out in large numbers for the election, in which Iraqis will choose a 275-member National Assembly that will appoint a new government and draft a permanent constitution.
Shiites form about 60 percent of Iraq’s 26 million population, and their candidates are expected to win most of the assembly seats. Many Sunnis fear the loss of power they enjoyed under Saddam Hussein. Sunni clerics have called for a boycott, and US officials fear a low Sunni turnout may cast doubt on the legitimacy of the new government.
Yesterday, police discovered a car loaded with explosives in Kerbala. On Sunday, a total of 17 people were killed in attacks along the main highway from Baghdad to Kut, 160 kilometers to the southeast.
Many Shiites have been using the Kut highway for travel to the south to avoid a more direct route which passes through the “triangle of death,” where Sunnis have been targeting Shiites, foreigners, government officials and security personnel.
In Kut, gunmen broke into an administration building at Wasit University early yesterday, wounded two guards and ransacked some offices, police said. University authorities postponed exams until after the election. Kut is in a largely Shiite province which US officials said was safe for elections.
— With input from agencies
