Iraq car bombs kill 16
BAGHDAD — Car bombs in two Shiite villages on the outskirts of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul killed 16 civilians and injured more than two dozen on Wednesday, authorities said.
The motive for the attacks was not immediately clear. Their strength diminished, some Sunni insurgents still seek to re-ignite sectarian violence with the majority Shiites and reverse Iraq’s security gains in the past two years.
Ethnic tensions among Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs are also high in the disputed region; mostly Shiite Turkmen live in the villages that were struck.
One attack happened in the village of Sada Wa Baaweza when a bomb in a car parked near a Shiite mosque killed nine people and injured 15, a police officer and a hospital medic said. Another car bomb killed seven people and injured 11 people on a commercial street in Gubba village, police said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The two villages are north of Mosul, and lie about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from each other.
In other violence, a civilian, a soldier and two suspected insurgents died in shootings and explosions in Mosul, where militants remain active after being driven out of many other urban strongholds.
South of Baghdad, a bomb planted on a well-wisher’s car at a wedding celebration exploded outside the house of the groom, a police lieutenant, authorities said. Four people died and 16 others were injured.
The wedding attack occurred at around 5 p.m. in Musayyib as guests gathered at the groom’s gate before heading to the bride’s house in line with tradition, a police officer and a hospital medic said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Neither the bride nor the groom were injured in the attack.
West of Baghdad, a bomb exploded at a house on the outskirts of the predominantly Sunni area of Abu Ghraib, killing a man and his 16-year-old son as they spread manure to fertilize their garden, police said. Five men in a neighboring house were injured and taken to a hospital.
Even though insurgents attack regularly, Iraq is far more secure now than in the past years of war, though political reconciliation among the countries diverse factions has yet to occur. U.S. combat forces pulled back from cities to bases outside urban centers at the end of June, signaling confidence in the ability of Iraqi forces to keep order.
On Wednesday, Iraqi officials said the Kurdish-run north of the country could not vote this month on a draft constitution, a document perceived by Iraqi Arabs as an effort to expand Kurdish authority at the expense of the central government.
Tension between Kurds and Arabs, particularly around the northern, oil-rich area of Kirkuk, is seen as a major threat to Iraqi stability.
The election commission chairman, Faraj al-Haidari, said Kurds can’t hold a referendum on a proposed constitution on the same day as elections for a regional parliament on July 25.
“The commission now has little time to prepare for the referendum, and we also have shortages and problems with vote papers and printing material,” al-Haidari said.
The draft constitution would expand the boundaries of the Kurdish-run region to include Kirkuk, something strongly opposed by the Arab residents of the disputed city.
The Kurdish parliament planned to discuss the issue Thursday in the regional capital, Irbil.
Associated Press writer Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report.
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