Islamic State claims Baghdad bombs;

parliament to meet Sunday

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (C) and acting Defence Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi (R) attend the funeral ceremon of Ma!or
"eneral Negm #$dullah #li% commander of the arm's si&th di'ision% at the defence ministr in (aghdad )ul *% +,-.
BY
ISRA'A AL-RUBEI' AND MAGGIE FICK-BAGHDAD Tue Jul 8, 2014
(Reuters) - Islamist militants claimed res/onsi$ilit for
suicide $om$ings in (aghdad% and there 0ere signs the deadlock /aralsing Iraq's
/arliament might finall $e loosening in the face of the threat from the 1Islamic State1
that has sei2ed much of the countr3
4he Sunni Muslim grou/% 0hich has taken o'er large areas of Sria and Iraq% /osted
0e$ /hotos of t0o men 0ith scar'es co'ering their faces% /osing in front of its $lack
and 0hite flag and machineguns3 It identified them as the (aghdad $om$ers and said
the 0ere 5e$anese and 5i$an3
6i'e /eo/le 0ere killed in the first $last at a cafe in the 7ashash district on Sunda
night3 6our /olice and three ci'ilians 0ere killed the ne&t da at a check/oint in
8adhimia% a northern neigh$ourhood3
(oth districts are /redominatel Shi'ite Muslim% raising fears the ca/ital could return
to the das of sectarian $loodletting from +,,9-+,,*3
(aghdad had seen fe0 attacks com/ared to the 'iolence in other areas hit $ the
Islamic State's lightning offensi'e last month3
:o/es that /olitical /aralsis in (aghdad ma $e $roken 0ith the formation of a ne0
go'ernment to confront the insurgenc 0ere dashed on Monda 0hen /arliament
delaed its ne&t meeting for fi'e 0eeks - onl to re'erse its decision +. hours later3
;n 4uesda the acting s/eaker of the ne0 /arliament Mehdi al-:afidh said /arliament
0ould $ring for0ard the session to Sunda% instead of #ugust -+3
1#n dela in this could !eo/ardi2e the securit of Iraq and its democratic course and
increase the suffering of the Iraqi /eo/le%1 the s/eaker said3
1DIR< SI4=#4I;N1
4he /ost/onement had $een criticised $ the la0makers themsel'es% 0ho also $lamed
each other% and $ 7ashington3 4he =3S3 State De/artment said the 1dire situation on
the ground1 made /rogress to resol'e the im/asse all the more urgent3
7ith no sign that Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki 0ill a$andon his $id for a third
term% his Sunni% Shi'ite and 8urdish o//onents 0arn there is a risk that Iraq 0ill
fragment along ethnic and sectarian lines3
4he reasons for the deadlock o'er the nomination of the to/ three /osts in go'ernment
- /rime minister% /resident% and s/eaker - mirror the $roader di'isions in the countr3
4he Islamic State% an offshoot of al >aeda% until recentl called itself the Islamic State
in Iraq and the 5e'ant (ISI5)3 It is s/earheading a /atch0ork of insurgents 0ho hold
territor gra$$ed in a $lit2krieg across the north and 0est of Iraq and ha'e threatened
to mo'e on (aghdad3
4he cit of * million faces threats from militants on three sides3
Islamic State and other Sunni insurgents - ranging from tri$al fighters% more moderate
Islamists% e&-militar officers and mem$ers of the $anned (aath /art - are in the
0estern (aghdad su$ur$s and cities to the north3 Clashes ha'e also eru/ted to the
south3
4he Iraqi militar% $acked $ Shi'ite militias and 'olunteers% has et to take $ack an
ma!or cit $ut is tring to ad'ance on 4ikrit% the late dictator Saddam :ussein's
hometo0n in Salahuddin /ro'ince3
4he arm said on 4uesda it had 1cleansed1 the road from (aghdad to Samarra% -,,
km (9, miles) to the north% $ut attacks are still $eing launched on securit forces on
the road3
;n 4uesda a suicide $om$er killed three /olicemen and t0o ci'ilians -? km south of
Samarra% a local securit source and a medic said3
4he =nited Nations said last 0eek more than +%.,, Iraqis had $een killed in )une
alone3
(acked $ Shi'ite militias and 'olunteers% the militar has $een tring since )une +@ to
ad'ance into 4ikrit and defeat o//onents including the Naqsh$andi #rm% a grou/ led
$ former arm officers and (aathists like <22at I$rahim al-Douri% Saddam's feared
de/ut and lifelong confidante3
1P;P=5#R =PRISIN"1
Douri is also from the 4ikrit area% and is the most senior of Saddam's aides still at
large3
Staunchl o//osed to 0hat the see as an e&clusionar Shi'ite-led go'ernment in
(aghdad% 'eterans of the (aath /art that ruled Iraq $efore +,,A found common cause
0ith Islamic State militants 0hen the o'erran 4ikrit and Mosul% the north's largest
cit3
4he /rime minister's militar s/okesman said ho0e'er on 4uesda 1e&-arm officers
and tri$esmen1 in Sunni ma!orit areas like Mosul and 4ikrit 0ere ralling against the
Islamic State3
1(4he) are getting read for a /o/ular u/rising against the Islamic state%1 5ieutenant
"eneral >assim #tta told re/orters3 1;ur securit forces are read to /ro'ide
tri$esmen 0ith the hel/ the need%1 he said3
4he arm has intensified its air raids on militant-held /ositions in northern /ro'inces
including Salahuddin and Nine'eh% 0here Mosul is located% in an effort to dri'e out the
insurgents3
4he Islamic State /osted /hotos and a statement on social media late on Monda
sho0ing the $loodied cor/se of an arm officer the grou/ identified as (rigadier
"eneral I$rahim #$dullah :ussein% saing it had e&ecuted him3
:ussein 0as one of the officers the go'ernment said had fled 4ikrit at the $eginning of
last month's offensi'e% 0hich sa0 arm and /olice flee in the 0ake of the onslaught3
4here 0as no 0a to inde/endentl confirm the claim3
Residents of the cit sa the militants are holding /risoners at Saddam's former /alace
there3
4hirt 1terrorists1 0ere killed in a go'ernment air strike on the to0n of Sharqat north
of 4ikrit on 4uesda% #tta said3
# doctor at the local hos/ital told Reuters fi'e ci'ilians 0ere 0ounded 0hen a
helico/ter gunshi/ fired on the hos/ital% 0here the doctor said some 0ounded Islamic
State fighters 0ere $eing treated3
(#dditional re/orting $ #hmed RasheedB editing $ Dominic <'ans and #ndre0
Roche)