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12 students killed in sectarian attack

Consensus eludes Iraq on Minister posts

BAGHDAD: Gunmen killed 21 persons, including a dozen students, after they dragged them off buses northeast of Baghdad.

The gunmen spared four Sunni Arabs in one of the worst sectarian atrocities in recent weeks.

In another outbreak of sectarian violence, a firefight broke out after police surrounded a Sunni Arab mosque in oil-rich southern Basra, leaving at least nine persons dead in another blow to efforts by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to curb sectarian violence in the second largest city.

In Qara Tappah, northeast of Baghdad, Mayor Serwan Shokir said one person was also wounded in the attack which occurred in the early morning after three mini buses left his town headed for Baqouba — located 60 km northeast of Baghdad. There were 26 persons on the buses, including the 12 students who were killed.

The students were apparently headed for Baqouba to take exams. Of the dead, 19 were Shia Turkomen and two were Kurds.

Sunni survivors

Mr. Shokir said three of the students were in high school — two were 17 and one was 18. The other nine — four were 21 and five were 22 — were all students at the al-Yarmouk University in Baqouba.

The four Sunni Arabs who survived were being questioned at Qara Tappah police station, he said.

The attack occurred on the outskirts of Diyala province, a mixed region that in recent weeks has been transformed into a sectarian powder keg — including attacks against Sunni Arab and Shia shrines.

Parliament was postponed on Sunday after Mr. Maliki again failed to reach any consensus on candidates for the crucial Ministers who will run the armed forces and police.

He had promised to name candidates for approval by the 275-member Parliament despite the disagreement, but was apparently convinced to wait.

In Basra, the standoff began when police stormed four Sunni mosques hours after a suicide car bomber blew himself up in a crowded market, killing 28 persons and wounding 62. — AP

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