The Hindu : International : Shia legislator killed in blast

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Wednesday, Jun 29, 2005

International

International

Shia legislator killed in blast

Lawmaker's death may fuel tensions

BAGHDAD: A suicide car bomb killed an Iraqi Shia legislator and three others near Baghdad as they were headed to Parliament on Tuesday, an attack likely to further fuel tensions between the minority Sunni Arabs and the Shia majority.

Military operation

The attack occurred on the one-year anniversary of the transfer of sovereignty to Iraqi authorities.

More than 1,000 U.S. troops and Iraqi forces launched Operation Sword in a bid to crush militancy and foreign fighters in western Iraq, making it the third major offensive in the area in recent weeks.

The military campaigns, however, have not been able to capsize a resilient militancy that has killed more than 1,360 persons — mostly civilians and Iraqi security forces — since Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari announced his Shia-dominated government on April 28.

Despite the violence, Iraq's first Kurdish President, Jalal Talabani, described the anniversary day as ``blessed'' because it led to the Jan. 30 polls, country's first free election in decades.

``This is a blessed day which saw the restoration of independence and national sovereignty,'' Mr. Talabani said after a meeting the U.S. and British envoys to Iraq.

``But we think that the restoration of independence started after the epic, the legend, of the elections.''

National Assembly legislator Sheik Dhari Ali al-Fayadh and his son were killed in the suicide attack while travelling to Parliament from their farm in Rashidiya, 35 km northeast of Baghdad, said parliamentarian Hummam Hammoudi, who heads a committee charged with drafting a new constitution.

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