BAGHDAD, 13 November 2005 — UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, on his first visit to Iraq since the March 2003 US-led invasion, urged Iraqis yesterday to embrace a process aiming to reconcile all the country’s ethnic and religious groups.

Annan condemned the “brutal behavior” of those responsible for attacks such as a car bomb that ripped through a Baghdad market, killing at least five people and wounding 20, within hours of his arrival in Baghdad’s fortress-like “Green Zone” where most government business is conducted.

Annan came from Amman where he discussed Wednesday’s deadly bombings in three hotels in the Jordanian capital, which Al-Qaeda in Iraq said was carried out by four Iraqis.

“This region and particularly Iraq has suffered too much from terrorist attacks,” Annan said. “Even those of us at a distance feel the pain that has been inflicted on the families.” Annan said he was encouraged by an Arab League initiative to call an Iraqi national reconciliation conference.

“The political transition must be a process that is inclusive and transparent and takes into account the concerns of all groups,” Annan said after meeting ministers in the Shiite and Kurdish-led government as well as Sunni Arab politicians who were left out in the cold after elections in January.

US commanders have warned that insurgents may intensify their armed campaign to disrupt the vote. But reports that Saddam Hussein’s deputy had died were a blow to the insurgency and a boost to the Iraqi government and its US backers.

Around the time Annan arrived, a car bomb exploded in a market in east Baghdad, starting fires in several shops and killing at least five people, police said.

“A car parked near a pharmacy suddenly blew up and we saw smoke and people started running,” said witness Ali Saleh. “Women were searching for their children. The shrapnel flew everywhere, the force of the blast was so strong.”

Elsewhere, Iraqi police commandos launched a dragnet operation in the town of Baquba, northeast of Baghdad, arresting 346 suspects, security officials said.

“We shall remain in town until it’s swept clean” Iraqi general Mohammad Hassan told AFP, adding that the operation could take several days.

Deputy governor Uf Rahumi said five officials, including two councilors and a judge, had been arrested, along with two local leaders of Iraq’s main Sunni Arab party, the Islamic Party.

UN Work Must Go On

The United Nations has been operating in Iraq at greatly reduced levels since international staffers were withdrawn in October 2003 after two bombings at its Baghdad offices.

Iraqi officials have been pressing the United Nations for months to significantly increase its involvement in Iraq.

“As difficult as it is, we need to continue with our work and do whatever we can to stabilize and bring peace to Iraq,” Annan said after meeting UN staff.

The United Nations pulled out of the country after a truck bomb at UN headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003 killed 22 people, including UN Iraq envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.

The UN Security Council voted unanimously earlier this week to let the US-led multinational force remain in place till the end of 2006, as requested by Iraq’s government.

The US military has been conducting a major operation in western Iraq over the past week to root out Al-Qaeda insurgents it says are infiltrating the country through Syria.

An Iraqi Red Crescent doctor said yesterday more than 50 bodies had been found in the rubble of a town near the Syrian border which US-led troops swept through this week.

As residents started to trickle back to Qusayba in recent days, doctor Saif Al-Ani told Reuters they had unearthed at least 54 bodies in the rubble, including women and children.