Iraq PM Urges Patience as Lawmakers Call Special Session
VOA News 09 December 2009
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is calling on Iraqis to remain patient and steadfast, as lawmakers and citizens alike criticize Iraqi officials for security failures in the capital.
Mr. Maliki made the comments in an address Wednesday, one day after a string of coordinated bombings killed 127 people in Baghdad.
Iraqi lawmakers have demanded that top security officials appear before parliament Thursday to explain how bombers were again able to penetrate the capital. There have been three big attacks in Baghdad since August.
Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani, whose department is responsible for the police, has been asked to appear, along with Iraq's defense minister and the head of Baghdad's military operations.
Tuesday's attacks targeted a finance ministry office, the labor ministry and a courthouse. Officials say more than 400 people were wounded.
No one has claimed responsibility for the violence, but Iraqi security officials are blaming al-Qaida-linked terrorists and loyalists of the outlawed Ba'ath party of the late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
In fresh attacks Wednesday, Iraqi police say two roadside bombings in northern Baghdad killed four people and wounded 18 others.
Both the Iraqi government and US military have warned of a rise in attacks in the run up to Iraq's general elections, which authorities say will take place on Sunday, March 7.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
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