As violence continues Baghdad asks the UN to maintain coalition
Baghdad (AsiaNews/Agencies) Iraq continues to be the scene of daily carnage for both civilians and military. The government for its part has asked the United Nations to maintain the US-led coalition on the ground in order to try to increase security.
An Interior Ministry source confirmed that this morning an official with Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's Dawa Party was killed in the southern Baghdad neighbourhood of Qadissiya.
The source also said that in a separate incident four policemen were wounded during the attack by four armed men against the residence of the Deputy Interior Ministry Hikmat Mussa Salamne who was not at home at the time.
Interior Ministry sources also reported the death of two policemen and one civilian in a car bomb in north-western Baghdad that left six people wounded. A suicide bomber drove a vehicle against a police convoy that was transiting through the Cholaa neighbourhood.
Fifteen minutes later an all-terrain vehicle escorted by US army vehicles blew up as it hit a homemade explosive device near Chaab Stadium in a south-eastern zone of the capital.
The recent wave of violence is occurring as the Iraqi government wants the UN Security Council to renew the mandate of the multinational force.
Yesterday Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar al-Zibari wrote to the Council explaining that "despite continuing efforts to build up our security forces, these forces cannot as yet assume full responsibility for maintaining our national security and defending our borders".
The government in Baghdad still needs the US-led coalition that includes 138,000 US and 20,000 allied troops to guarantee the country's security.
Yesterday's joint US-Iraqi operation that swept through the city of Haditha was the latest in a series of joint offensives against the guerrilla.
On May 14, Operation Matador on the border with Syria led to 125 insurgents dead and dozens of arrests.
This was followed on May 22 by an operation in Abu Ghraib, a Baghdad suburb, which netted 440 rebels.
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09/09/2014
13/03/2021 10:02
