Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Iraq

Bombs kills 14 in Iraq as deadlock continues

15 Jul 2010 19:47:02 GMT

* Political impasse continues after election

* Violence way down but attacks remain common

* U.S. military to end combat operations

TIKRIT, Iraq, July 15 (Reuters) - A car bomb targeting police in Saddam Hussein's hometown north of Baghdad and two other bombs in a cafe and a market south of the Iraqi capital killed 14 people on Thursday, security sources said.

The attacks came amid continuing deadlock following a March election that produced no outright winner, setting off prolonged jostling between political blocs representing Iraq's majority Shi'ites, once dominant Sunnis and minority Kurds.

The bomb in Tikrit, home of the toppled dictator's family, exploded on a busy commercial street, killing six people, including four policemen, and wounding 14 others, police said.

It damaged about 30 shops, leaving pools of blood in the street. Police swarmed the area, firing shots in the air.

"An explosion rocked the area and I found myself in the hospital. I have shrapnel in my head," wounded policeman Ashref Abbas said at a local hospital.

The city, which is located about 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, is the capital of Salahuddin province.

In another attack, a bomb in a cafe in the town of Haswa, 50 km (30 miles) south of Baghdad, killed six people and wounded eight, a source in the Interior Ministry said.

Shortly before that, a bomb planted on a bicycle in a marketplace in Mahmudiya, on Baghdad's southern outskirts, killed two people and wounded 10, the same source said.

The violence unleashed after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion has dropped sharply since the worst days of the sectarian conflict in 2006-07. But bombings and shootings often blamed on Sunni Islamist insurgents are still common.

Hundreds of people have been killed since the inconclusive March 7 parliamentary election that has yet to produce a new government.

The political vacuum is occurring as U.S. troops prepare to end combat operations on Aug. 31 ahead of a full withdrawal by the end of 2011. (Reporting by Sabah al-Bazee and Baghdad bureau; Writing by Jim Loney and Michael Christie)