BAGHDAD, 25 July 2005 — Twenty-five people were killed yesterday when a suicide bomber blew up a truck full of explosives outside a police station in Baghdad, Iraqi officials said, but the US military put the death toll at 40.
“The bodies of the victims, many of whom were policemen, were completely burned by the blast,” an Interior Ministry official said, adding that 33 others were wounded.
The US military, citing initial Iraqi police reports, said 40 people were killed, but police said they were uncertain where the figure came from.
The US military said the suicide bomber used a semi-truck loaded with 220 kilograms of explosives. Twenty-two cars, 10 shops and a residential building were set ablaze in the massive explosion outside Al-Rashid police station in the Al-Mashtel neighborhood in the southeast of the capital.
“It appears that the bomber who was driving the truck wanted to enter the police station, but for some reason the explosives detonated 20 meters before the police station,” the official said, adding that US and Iraqi security forces had cordoned off the area.
It was the deadliest attack in Iraq since a suicide bomber blew himself up near a Shiite mosque on July 16 in the central city of Musayyib, igniting a fuel tanker and killing nearly 100 people.
Elsewhere, gunmen killed the head of the city council in the insurgent-riddled city of Samarra, 95 km north of Baghdad, police said. Council Chairman Taha Al-Hinderah and a companion were gunned down as they walked in the Albu Rahman neighborhood in the evening, said police Capt. Laith Mohammed.
Six policemen were also killed yesterday in scattered attacks in Baghdad and Kirkuk, officials reported.
An American Marine was killed Saturday when a roadside bomb exploded near the desert town of Rutbah, 360 km west of Baghdad. The US command said the Marine was assigned to Regimental Combat Team-2 of the 2nd Marine Division, but the victim’s name was not released.
As of Saturday, at least 1,775 members of the US military had died since the Iraq war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
The Baghdad bombing, the latest in a wave of deadly attacks against police, came as Sunni Arab leaders considered ending their boycott of talks on a new constitution.
With an Aug. 15 deadline looming for Parliament to vote on a final draft to be put to a referendum, Sunni leaders said they were reconsidering their boycott called in protest at the murder of two of their number by insurgents on Tuesday.
“Today we are holding meetings amongst ourselves to reach a joint decision on whether to resume our work in the committee,” said Iyad Al-Sammarai, No. 2 in the Islamic Party, a leading Sunni faction.
“Circumstances forced us to suspend our participation, but this is a very delicate time and we must participate and give our opinion on the constitution,” he said. “We might rejoin the committee as early as tomorrow (Monday).”
The head of Sunni religious endowments said the boycott was only meant to be a temporary measure to protest the murders.
“Sunni Arabs must have a say in drawing up the country’s constitution,” said Adnan Al-Dulaimi.
The government was responding positively to several of their demands, including one for better security for committee members, the officials said.
Sunni Arabs, who make up around a fifth of the population, dominated Saddam Hussein’s regime and all previous Iraqi governments but are under-represented in Parliament because much of the community boycotted January elections.
The drafting committee co-opted Sunni members to give the disgruntled former elite a say in drawing up the new constitution.
The mixed makeup of the committee was deemed crucial for drafting a constitution acceptable to all of Iraq’s ethnic and religious communities, a key to any political exit from the unremitting violence and the need for American troops to remain in Iraq.
Yesterday, no Sunni members showed up at a planned constitutional meeting.
Shiite member Bahaa Al-Araji said no decision will be taken “without the presence of the brothers (Sunnis) unless there is a reason for the absence. Therefore the committee will be committed to handing over the draft at the time agreed upon.”
The commission’s goal is to get a constitution drafted and approved by the assembly on Aug. 15. That charter would then be scheduled for a public referendum two months later.
Voters in only three of the 18 provinces can scuttle the constitution if they reject it by two-thirds majority in the October referendum.
