Car Bombings in Baghdad Kill 7, Sistani Aide Gunned Down
06 June 2007
Iraqi security officials say two car bomb blasts in a mainly Shi'ite district of Baghdad have killed at least seven people and wounded more than 25.
Police say the two parked vehicles exploded in quick succession Wednesday in the Kadhimiyah district, home to a Shi'ite shrine.
In southern Iraq, gunmen riding in a vehicle shot dead an aide to the country's most revered Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Police say the aide, Raheem al-Hasnawi, was gunned down outside his home in the town of al-Mishkhab late Tuesday.
Also on Tuesday, a police officer was killed in a drive-by shooting in the city of Baiji, about 180 kilometers north of Baghdad.
Meanwhile, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, says the situation there could become much worse if the United States pulls out of the country.
Crocker made the remark during an interview with an American radio network (National Public Radio), which is to be broadcast Wednesday.
He said in the case of a U.S. pullout, it must be considered whether al-Qaida would assume power in Iraq, and what that would mean for security. He also said U.S. officials must consider how a total breakdown in security would impact Iraq's neighbors, and what Iran, Turkey and Arab states would do.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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