Replies

Tue, February 24, 2004

'Real step up' by professional terrorists: U.S.

By AP

KIRKUK, Iraq -- A suicide bomber blew up a white Oldsmobile outside a police station in this northern city yesterday, killing at least seven policemen and wounding dozens of other people. It was the fifth suicide attack in Iraq this month. The bombing occurred as U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Baghdad to check on the state of readiness of Iraq's security forces, which have born the brunt of the suicide strikes.

U.S. administrator Paul Bremer told reporters after meeting with Rumsfeld that Iraq has seen "a real step up" by "professional terrorists from al-Qaida and Ansar al-Islam in conducting suicide attacks."

Kirkuk has also seen rising ethnic tensions as Kurds, Arabs and Turkomen compete for control of the city, which is located in one of the world's richest oil-producing regions about 290 km north of Baghdad.

Yesterday's suicide bombing in Kirkuk occurred as police were changing shifts at Rahimawa station, according to the station's chief, Col. Adel Ibrahim.

'KNEW THE PROCEDURE'

"Whoever did this had been watching and knew the procedure of the policemen's shifts," said Col. Thamer Abdul-Masih.

In other developments yesterday:

- The United Nations said elections were impossible by June 30 but could be held by January 2005 if planning begins at once.

The report by UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi also said tensions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims were "becoming entrenched and inter-communal politics more polarized."

The U.S. intends to transfer power to the Iraqis on June 30, but its plans have caused controversies on several fronts. Leaders of the country's Shiite Muslim majority demand quick elections to establish a government, and an influential cleric warned yesterday of civil war if a vote is delayed.

- U.S. officials said 17 American soldiers had been suspended pending the outcome of a probe into allegations of abuse of Iraqi prisoners. They include a battalion commander and a company commander.