| Moscow insists on holding an international conference The end of the week turned out to be bloody in Iraq - more than 50 people were killed in clashes between militants and multinational forces and government troops, as well as as a result of terrorist attacks in various parts of the country. The northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk had the greatest number of casualties, with at least 25 killed and 40 wounded. There, on Saturday, a car with explosives driven by a suicide bomber rammed barriers near the police academy. At the same time, a landmine that had been planted in advance was detonated. The explosions occurred at the end of classes, when teachers and students were leaving the building. No one claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack.
Another 16 Iraqi police and national guardsmen were killed and about 20 were wounded in the town of Latifiya, 45 km south of Baghdad. During the raid, which was attended by US Marines, law enforcement officers came across unknown militants who put up fierce resistance. Yesterday, an American Humvee patrol SUV was blown up in the northern suburbs of Baghdad. At least one US service member was killed.
One of the main sources of information about Iraq is the Qatari TV channel Al-Jazeera. However, yesterday the Iraqi authorities extended for an indefinite period the ban on the operation of the channel's representative office in Baghdad. The ban was introduced on August 5, when journalists were accused of "provoking violence" and "encouraging extremists to kidnap hostages" by broadcasting militant statements and showing their victims. The office of Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi accused Al Jazeera of continuing to broadcast despite the ban. The channel's management said that the sanctions "contradict the promises of the Iraqi authorities to pursue a policy of openness and ensure freedom of speech."
Yesterday in Beirut, the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, again called for an international conference on Iraq. This is the most “optimal option for resolving the Iraqi problem,” he said after negotiations with his Lebanese colleague Jean Obeid. “When discussing the situation in Iraq, we agreed that as the security situation continues to deteriorate, one of the few steps to ensure consensus is the idea of convening an international conference on Iraq,” Mr. Lavrov said. Alexander SAMOKHOTKIN |
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