Police: Bicycle bomb kills 5 in southern Iraq

BAGHDAD – A bomb attached to a bicycle killed five people and wounded dozens in southern Iraq yesterday, and at least five others were killed in violence across the country, police said.

The bloodshed comes as Iraqi lawmakers intensify negotiations over a new election law that many hope will hasten the end of political gridlock over control of oil-rich Kirkuk – an old dispute between Arabs and Kurds that has threatened Iraq’s fragile stability as US troops prepare to leave the country.The United Nations expressed ‘heightened concern’ over the stalemate yesterday and urged the lawmakers to focus on Iraq’s national interests. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for January 16, although lawmakers have yet to pass key legislation that will govern the crucial nationwide vote.Violence continued around the country, killing at least 10 people yesterday.Major Muthana Khalid said a booby trapped bicycle exploded at a popular fruit and vegetable market near Hillah, the capital of Iraq’s Babil province, 95 kilometres south of Baghdad.Thirty-seven people were wounded in the attack, Khalid said.In the western city of Ramadi, two people – including a policeman – were killed when twin car bombs exploded minutes apart in the visitors’ parking lot of the city’s Traffic Police Directorate.Ramadi is the capital of Anbar province, 115 kilometres west of Baghdad.Also ysterday, three people were killed when a bomb that was detonated remotely exploded on a bus as the vehicle approached a police checkpoint in the southern holy city of Karbala, 80 kilometres south of Baghdad, officials said.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the were not authorised to speak to the press.Last week, twin suicide attacks in Baghdad killed 155 people, the worst attacks in Iraq in two years. The bloodshed prompted many to question the ability of the government led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to protect its people as the US withdraws.An al Qaeda umbrella group in Iraq has claimed responsibility for last week’s bombings. Al-Maliki, who has staked his re-election bid on his ability to bring peace to the country, blamed recent attacks on Baathists – the supporters of former dictator Saddam Hussein – and on al Qaeda. – Nampa- AP