Monday, January 10, 2005
Baghdad's Deputy Police Chief Assassinated Roadside Bomb Kills Two U.S. Soldiers in Separate Attack
By Karl Vick and Fred BarbashWashington Post Staff WritersMonday, January 10, 2005; 12:25 PM
BAGHDAD, Jan. 10 -- Gunmen killed Baghdad's deputy police chief in the middle of rush hour Monday morning, the latest in a spate of high-profile assassinations in advance of Iraq's scheduled Jan. 30 election.
Separately Monday, two U.S. soldiers in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle were killed and four were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded while they were on patrol, the military announced. The Bradley was destroyed, yet another sign that the insurgents are deploying far more powerful explosives than ever before.
Last week, a roadside bomb exploded beneath a Bradley, killing everyone inside the heavily armored troop carrier.
The military also said Monday that a U.S. Marine died in Anbar province on Sunday during combat operations.
Meanwhile, Ukraine President Leonid Kuchma ordered his government to develop a plan for accelerating withdrawal of Ukraine's troops from Iraq within the first half of the year, a statement from the president's office said. Ukraine, whose 1,650 troops are the fourth-largest contingent in the U.S.-led military operation in Iraq, has previously expressed intentions to withdraw this year, but the order speeds up the apparent timetable.
The order, news services reported, came a day after eight Ukrainian soldiers died in an explosion at an ammunition dump in Iraq, which was reported as an accident rather than as the result of hostile action.
In all, 16 Ukrainian soldiers have died in Iraq, "The situation in Iraq has deteriorated and as a consequence we lost our men," acting Defense Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency after meeting with Kuchma, adding that the withdrawal could begin as early as March. Incoming president Viktor Yushchenko has also promised a withdrawal.
A group led by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab Zarqawi said it was behind the killing of the deputy police chief, news services reported, and warned other Iraqi officials that they would face the same fate. The claim could not be authenticated, but the same group has claimed responsibility for dozens of prior killings and bombings.
The attack followed last week's killing of the governor of Baghdad by insurgents attempting to disrupt the election, in which Iraqis are set to vote for members of a 275-member National Assembly. In particular, violence in areas populated by Iraq's Sunni Muslim minority has prevented many people from registering to vote.
Brig. Amer Nayef, the deputy police chief, was gunned down Monday morning while riding in a car with his son, also a police officer. Police said that assailants sprayed machine gun fire from two cars that drove parallel with the deputy chief's vehicle, which was unprotected.
"Regretfully, we heard this sad news," said Interior Ministry spokesman Sabah Kadim as he confirmed the deaths. "He was with his son . . . on his way to work when armed men ambushed them and sprayed bullets on the car. They were both killed," he said. "They didn't have protection."
On Sunday, gunmen killed the deputy police chief of Samarra, Col. Mohammed Mudhafir, as he drove alone in the city about 65 miles north of Baghdad, police there told wire services.
Separately, a suicide bomber killed at least four police officers Monday when his car detonated inside the courtyard of a police station in southern Baghdad, police said.
Iraq's interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, said his government was intensifying raids on the homes and headquarters of various insurgent forces as the election approaches and has made a number of significant arrests, among them supporters of Saddam Hussein's former regime operating from outside of Iraq.
Saying there would be no "safe haven," Allawi vowed at a news conference that his commitment to holding the election would remain unwavering.
In another significant blow to Iraq's upcoming elections, the entire 13-member electoral commission in the volatile province of Anbar, west of the capital, resigned after being threatened by insurgents, a regional newspaper reported Sunday. Saad Abdul-Aziz Rawi, the head of the commission, told the Anbar newspaper that it was "impossible to hold elections" in the province, which is dominated by Sunni Muslims and where insurgent attacks already have prevented voter registration. The province includes the restive cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.
"They are kidding themselves," Rawi said about officials hopeful that the elections could take place in Anbar.
An Iraqi at the commission's office in Anbar said the members had resigned and had gone into hiding. Iraqi and U.S. officials have said Sunni participation in the elections is necessary for the vote to be considered legitimate. The largest political party representing Sunnis announced last month that it would drop out of the process, the country's first democratic elections in nearly half a century.
Barbash reported from Washington.
By Karl Vick and Fred BarbashWashington Post Staff WritersMonday, January 10, 2005; 12:25 PM
BAGHDAD, Jan. 10 -- Gunmen killed Baghdad's deputy police chief in the middle of rush hour Monday morning, the latest in a spate of high-profile assassinations in advance of Iraq's scheduled Jan. 30 election.
Separately Monday, two U.S. soldiers in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle were killed and four were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded while they were on patrol, the military announced. The Bradley was destroyed, yet another sign that the insurgents are deploying far more powerful explosives than ever before.
Last week, a roadside bomb exploded beneath a Bradley, killing everyone inside the heavily armored troop carrier.
The military also said Monday that a U.S. Marine died in Anbar province on Sunday during combat operations.
Meanwhile, Ukraine President Leonid Kuchma ordered his government to develop a plan for accelerating withdrawal of Ukraine's troops from Iraq within the first half of the year, a statement from the president's office said. Ukraine, whose 1,650 troops are the fourth-largest contingent in the U.S.-led military operation in Iraq, has previously expressed intentions to withdraw this year, but the order speeds up the apparent timetable.
The order, news services reported, came a day after eight Ukrainian soldiers died in an explosion at an ammunition dump in Iraq, which was reported as an accident rather than as the result of hostile action.
In all, 16 Ukrainian soldiers have died in Iraq, "The situation in Iraq has deteriorated and as a consequence we lost our men," acting Defense Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency after meeting with Kuchma, adding that the withdrawal could begin as early as March. Incoming president Viktor Yushchenko has also promised a withdrawal.
A group led by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab Zarqawi said it was behind the killing of the deputy police chief, news services reported, and warned other Iraqi officials that they would face the same fate. The claim could not be authenticated, but the same group has claimed responsibility for dozens of prior killings and bombings.
The attack followed last week's killing of the governor of Baghdad by insurgents attempting to disrupt the election, in which Iraqis are set to vote for members of a 275-member National Assembly. In particular, violence in areas populated by Iraq's Sunni Muslim minority has prevented many people from registering to vote.
Brig. Amer Nayef, the deputy police chief, was gunned down Monday morning while riding in a car with his son, also a police officer. Police said that assailants sprayed machine gun fire from two cars that drove parallel with the deputy chief's vehicle, which was unprotected.
"Regretfully, we heard this sad news," said Interior Ministry spokesman Sabah Kadim as he confirmed the deaths. "He was with his son . . . on his way to work when armed men ambushed them and sprayed bullets on the car. They were both killed," he said. "They didn't have protection."
On Sunday, gunmen killed the deputy police chief of Samarra, Col. Mohammed Mudhafir, as he drove alone in the city about 65 miles north of Baghdad, police there told wire services.
Separately, a suicide bomber killed at least four police officers Monday when his car detonated inside the courtyard of a police station in southern Baghdad, police said.
Iraq's interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, said his government was intensifying raids on the homes and headquarters of various insurgent forces as the election approaches and has made a number of significant arrests, among them supporters of Saddam Hussein's former regime operating from outside of Iraq.
Saying there would be no "safe haven," Allawi vowed at a news conference that his commitment to holding the election would remain unwavering.
In another significant blow to Iraq's upcoming elections, the entire 13-member electoral commission in the volatile province of Anbar, west of the capital, resigned after being threatened by insurgents, a regional newspaper reported Sunday. Saad Abdul-Aziz Rawi, the head of the commission, told the Anbar newspaper that it was "impossible to hold elections" in the province, which is dominated by Sunni Muslims and where insurgent attacks already have prevented voter registration. The province includes the restive cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.
"They are kidding themselves," Rawi said about officials hopeful that the elections could take place in Anbar.
An Iraqi at the commission's office in Anbar said the members had resigned and had gone into hiding. Iraqi and U.S. officials have said Sunni participation in the elections is necessary for the vote to be considered legitimate. The largest political party representing Sunnis announced last month that it would drop out of the process, the country's first democratic elections in nearly half a century.
Barbash reported from Washington.
