BAGHDAD: A bomb attached to a bicycle killed five people and wounded dozens in southern Iraq on Sunday, and at least five others were killed in violence across the country, police said.
The bloodshed comes as Iraqi lawmakers intensify negotiations over a new election law that many hope will hasten the end of political gridlock over control of oil-rich Kirkuk — an old dispute between Arabs and Kurds that has threatened Iraq’s fragile stability as US troops prepare to leave the country.
The United Nations expressed “heightened concern” over the stalemate on Sunday and urged the lawmakers to focus on Iraq’s national interests. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for Jan. 16, although lawmakers have yet to pass key legislation that will govern the crucial nationwide vote. Violence continued around the country, killing at least 10 people on Sunday.
Maj. Muthana Khaled said a booby trapped bicycle exploded at a popular fruit and vegetable market near Hillah, the capital of Babil province, 95 km south of Baghdad. Thirty-seven people were wounded in the attack, Khaled said.
In the western city of Ramadi, two people — including a policeman — were killed when twin car bombs exploded minutes apart in the visitors’ parking lot of the city’s Traffic Police Directorate. Ramadi is the capital of Anbar province.
Also Sunday, three people were killed when a bomb that was detonated remotely exploded on a bus as the vehicle approached a police checkpoint in the southern city of Kerbala, officials said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
Last week, twin suicide attacks in Baghdad killed 155 people, the worst attacks in Iraq in two years. The bloodshed prompted many to question the ability of the government led by Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki to protect its people as the US withdraws.
