BAGHDAD, 30 January 2005 — Insurgents rocketed the US Embassy in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone yesterday, killing two Americans on the eve of landmark elections. Despite heavy security in insurgent hot spots, at least 17 people were killed across the country. The rebels have sworn to turn the poll into a bloodbath and kill anyone who dares to vote.
The rocket struck the American compound, setting off an explosion that could be heard throughout the city center. “It hit near the embassy building,” spokesman Bob Callahan said. “There are two dead and four who are wounded... all Americans.”
Even as security forces barricaded streets, sealed land borders and closed Baghdad airport, more than a dozen polling stations were attacked and bloodshed continued to overshadow the final electoral countdown.
A suicide bomber struck a US-Iraqi security center in the town of Khanaqin, northeast of Baghdad. The US military said three Iraqi soldiers and five civilians were killed.
An Al-Qaeda-linked group led by Jordanian militant Abu Mussab Al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility and threatened bloodbath when voters go to the polls today. “We warn for the last time that tomorrow will be a bloody day for the Jews, the Christians, their agents, and anyone who agrees to play the American-Allawi game,” said a statement in a reference to Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
Allawi earlier urged fractious religious and ethnic groups to vote and defy “enemies trying to break us and to break our world”.
In an interview with Sky TV, Allawi said: “I ask them (Iraqis) to participate in the elections whether they are inside or outside Iraq: Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, Christians. They should take part because this is the future in the making and people have to take their fate in their own hands.” Higher voter participation is widely expected in areas dominated by Shiites and in the Kurdish north. But the vote may be far lower in Sunni areas, where violence has been greatest.
The election campaign has unfolded with almost no rallies or canvassing. Authorities have even kept the names of candidates and location of polling stations secret until the last moment. Many people vowed to brave the threats, but others were afraid of being targeted at the polls or later, when indelible blue ink daubed on their index fingers to prevent multiple voting could mark them for death.
In Fallujah, the Sunni insurgent stronghold 65 km west of Baghdad, Iraqi soldiers, their faces masked to hide their identity, stood guard on the streets, where many shops were shuttered for fear of election day violence.
“We will not vote because our houses have been destroyed,” complained resident Ala Hussein. “We don’t have electricity or water. The Iraqi National Guard fire at us 24 hours a day. So who will we vote for? We don’t have security or pensions.”
— Additional input from agencies
