BAGHDAD, 10 August 2005 — A suicide car bomber struck a US convoy waiting at an intersection yesterday in central Baghdad, killing seven people — including one American soldier — and wounding more than 90. More than a dozen others died in scattered attacks across the capital.
A US Marine assigned to the 2nd Marine Division was killed Monday by small arms fire in Ramadi, 110 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad, the US military said yesterday. The latest deaths brought the number of US service members killed in Iraq this month to at least 32.
The violence raged as Iraqi political leaders showed little sign of compromise less than a week before a deadline for approval of a new constitution. Leaders conferred last night in a bid to overcome their differences and produce a charter by next Monday’s deadline.
President Jalal Talabani’s spokesman said no agreements were expected yesterday, but he added that all sides agreed to “get the job done” by the deadline. An American convoy was stopped at a busy intersection yesterday afternoon when a driver detonated a vehicle packed with explosives, the US Army said. An American soldier and six Iraqi civilians were killed, US and Iraqi officials said. Scores of Iraqis and two US soldiers were wounded.
As the violence continues, the United States hopes that progress on the political front, including adoption of a new democratic constitution, will help over time take the steam out of the Sunni Arab-led rebellion and enable the Americans and their partners to begin withdrawing troops next year.
Late yesterday, representatives of various political factions met for a second round of talks aimed at breaking the deadlock over the constitution, which the Parliament must approve by Aug. 15. Talks had been postponed Monday by a severe sandstorm. The constitution also will need approval from voters in an Oct. 15 referendum. Passage would lead to national elections in mid-December.
At the beginning of the talks, presidential spokesman Kamran Qaradaghi told reporters that the talks would focus on federalism, distribution of wealth and the elections law.
The Kurds demand that Iraq be transformed into a federal state so that they can continue to run their autonomous mini state in the north of the country. Sunni Arabs oppose federalism because they fear the Kurds want to secede and dismember Iraq.
Yesterday, a prominent Sunni Arab on the constitutional committee, Saleh Al-Mutlaq, suggested that federalism be decided by the new Parliament to be elected in December.
“We will not accept federalism in these circumstances,” Al-Mutlaq told The Associated Press. He warned that if the Kurdish demands are accepted, “they will have grave consequences” for the future of Iraq.
