KERBALA, Iraq, 29 June 2005 — A member of Iraq’s Parliament, three of his bodyguards and his son were killed by a suicide car bomb attack on their convoy in the northern outskirts of Baghdad yesterday.
Dhari Ali Al-Fayadh, a member of the ruling Shiite-dominated political alliance, was the second member of Iraq’s newly elected Parliament to be assassinated since the Shiite- and Kurdish-led government took office two months ago.
Al-Qaeda’s wing in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack, saying his “crime” was that he belonged to a council that legislated against what it saw as God’s commands.
Violence in Iraq has worsened dramatically since the government took office. Lamia Khadori, another parliamentarian, was gunned down at her home in April.
Fayadh was the oldest member of Parliament and had acted as speaker when the national assembly met for the first time after an election in January.
The murder set off a storm of protests by lawmakers, with some calling for Shiites to begin ensuring their own defense.
“Those who killed Sheikh Al-Fayadh are criminals trying to destroy the country, and those trying to negotiate with these criminals do so with the enemies of Iraq,” Sheikh Humam Hamudi, head of the parliamentary committee currently drafting a new constitution, said.
He referred to comments by US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who acknowledged contacts with some insurgent leaders.
Furious Shiite deputies suggested that the time had come to counter relentless attacks that have targeted their community.
Khodr Al-Khozai of the Shiite-dominated United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) appealed to the three biggest Sunni organizations in Iraq: “We call on the Committee of Muslim Scholars, the Waqf (state-run endowment group) and Iraqi Islamic Party to take a clear stand regarding murders and attacks on Shiites.
“We are on the edge of a precipice that could swallow us all. The ministries of interior and defense have proved incapable of defending us and in this case the people have the right to self-defense,” Khozai said.
A deputy from the Mehdi Army of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr suggested neighborhood committees be created with religious and community leaders to work with the interior and defense ministries. “These committees would know how to find the terrorists,” Fatah Al-Sheikh promised.
“Sheikh Fayadh was a patriot. All know how loyal he was to his country. He loved Iraq,” Hamudi said.
Residents of the town helped police seal off access to the site, where parts of the bomber’s body lay scattered over a wide area, and nervous plainclothes men scrutinized outsiders.
President Jalal Talabani denied that Iraq had a role in US talks with insurgent leaders, insisting they were strictly a US affair despite Washington’s claims it was acting only as a facilitator. The contacts were reportedly aimed at trying to put an end to the war being waged by insurgents.
“The Iraqi government has nothing to do with the negotiations with insurgents,” Talabani told a news conference. “If the Americans are negotiating with them, it’s up to them.” Talabani spoke hours before US President George W. Bush was to present increasingly skeptical Americans with reasons why up to 135,000 troops should stay in Iraq, as two more US deaths pushed the toll to 1,731 since March 2003.
