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Bombing and Qaeda claims as new Iraq council meets
Baghdad, July 14: A Baghdad bombing killed an Iraqi and claims were broadcast of al Qaeda involvement in attacks on U.S. forces, as an Iraqi Governing Council held an inaugural meeting hailed by Washington and the United Nations.
Baghdad, July 14: A Baghdad bombing killed an Iraqi and claims were broadcast of al Qaeda involvement in attacks on U.S. forces, as an Iraqi Governing Council held an inaugural meeting hailed by Washington and the United Nations.
The council, roughly reflecting Iraq`s religious and ethnic make-up and giving Iraqis more say in running the country, said one of its first decisions on Sunday was to abolish all holidays honoring Saddam Hussein. US officials retain the final word on policy.
A group calling itself the "Armed Islamic Movement for Al Qaeda, the Falluja Branch" said in an audio tape broadcast by Dubai-based Al Arabiya television that it was behind attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and warned of more bloodshed in coming days.
The group, whose name had not been heard of before, said a planned new attack would "break the back of America completely," but did not say whether it would be in Iraq or elsewhere.
The unidentified voice on the tape, which Arabiya aired along with a photograph of a white-bearded man wearing a turban, dismissed suggestions that Saddam loyalists were responsible for attacks on US forces.
"(The attacks) are a result of our brothers in jihad," said the group, identifying itself with the central Iraqi town of Falluja where US forces have been attacked several times.
Arabiya gave no details of the tape`s origins and there was no independent evidence on its credibility.
Sunday`s bomb blast occurred near a police station in a Baghdad suburb, killing one Iraqi and wounding another, underlining that Iraq remains a dangerous place three months after US and British forces toppled Saddam.
A headless body lay at the scene after the explosion in the western suburb of Maysaloun, next to the wreckage of a car on its side with its roof ripped off.
The police station is visited by US soldiers, who have come under daily attacks in mainly Sunni Muslim central Iraq in recent weeks. Saddam, a Sunni, had strongholds in the region.
In an earlier incident in Baghdad on Sunday, an Iraqi policeman was killed and four were wounded when they tried to help US forces who came under fire at a checkpoint.
Members of the new U.S.-backed police force have been attacked in apparent retaliation for cooperating with occupying powers.
Bureau Report
The council, roughly reflecting Iraq`s religious and ethnic make-up and giving Iraqis more say in running the country, said one of its first decisions on Sunday was to abolish all holidays honoring Saddam Hussein. US officials retain the final word on policy.
A group calling itself the "Armed Islamic Movement for Al Qaeda, the Falluja Branch" said in an audio tape broadcast by Dubai-based Al Arabiya television that it was behind attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and warned of more bloodshed in coming days.
The group, whose name had not been heard of before, said a planned new attack would "break the back of America completely," but did not say whether it would be in Iraq or elsewhere.
The unidentified voice on the tape, which Arabiya aired along with a photograph of a white-bearded man wearing a turban, dismissed suggestions that Saddam loyalists were responsible for attacks on US forces.
"(The attacks) are a result of our brothers in jihad," said the group, identifying itself with the central Iraqi town of Falluja where US forces have been attacked several times.
Arabiya gave no details of the tape`s origins and there was no independent evidence on its credibility.
Sunday`s bomb blast occurred near a police station in a Baghdad suburb, killing one Iraqi and wounding another, underlining that Iraq remains a dangerous place three months after US and British forces toppled Saddam.
A headless body lay at the scene after the explosion in the western suburb of Maysaloun, next to the wreckage of a car on its side with its roof ripped off.
The police station is visited by US soldiers, who have come under daily attacks in mainly Sunni Muslim central Iraq in recent weeks. Saddam, a Sunni, had strongholds in the region.
In an earlier incident in Baghdad on Sunday, an Iraqi policeman was killed and four were wounded when they tried to help US forces who came under fire at a checkpoint.
Members of the new U.S.-backed police force have been attacked in apparent retaliation for cooperating with occupying powers.
Bureau Report