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37 killed, many injured in triple Baghdad blasts

Atul Aneja

Hectic parleys on Constitution continue amid violence

DEEPENING AGONY: A man carries his two children from a hospital after treatment for wounds they sustained in one of the three massive car bomb attacks in Baghdad on Wednesday. — PHOTO: AP

MANAMA: At least 37 persons have been killed in coordinated blasts in Baghdad amid hectic parleys among representatives of the key ethnic and religious groups over a new Iraqi constitution. A suicide bomber struck outside Baghdad's Al-Nahda bus station. Soon after another car laden with explosives detonated inside the terminal building. The explosions left the parking lot of the bus station littered with bodies and body parts.

As some of the injured were being taken to Al-Kindi hospital, another suicide bomber detonated explosives in his car outside the building. It was not clear whether the hospital was directly targeted. Police officials were quoted as saying at 37 persons were killed and 58 wounded in the triple strike.

Kurdish demands

The main ethnic and religious communities — the Kurds, Shias and Sunnis continued backroom talks to iron out differences on at least three key issues. First, the Sunnis have been objecting to the Kurdish demands to include a "self-determination" option in the new constitution that is being drafted. The clause is widely seen as a Kurdish attempt to legalise possible secession from Iraq.

"Kurdish politicians have no present intentions to gain independence. But we need self-determination in order to decide our future in case troubles erupt in Iraq in the future," said Mullah Bakhtiyar, a senior official in the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP).

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad has said self-determination was "not on the table." Second, differences persist over the role of Islam after the Constitution comes into force. But striking an optimistic note, President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, said the Islam issue had been solved and "you will see in the constitution that it is not a problem."

Non-Shia groups have been also opposing attempts to enshrine special constitutional status for senior clerics.

Differences also persist over the distribution of oil revenues.

The Kurdish dominated northern Iraq has major oil fields, and the Kurds have been demanding a larger share of oil revenues. Iraqi negotiators are facing an August 22 deadline to conclude their discussions or face prospects of the dissolution of the Parliament.

U.S. soldiers killed

Separately, U.S. forces in Iraq continue to face mounting casualties. The U.S. military announced on Tuesday that three American soldiers were killed the night before when their vehicle overturned during military operations in south Baghdad.

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