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At least 9 killed in attack near Baghdad
Sat Mar 4, 2006 05:16 AM ET
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By Nick Olivari and Faris al-Mehdawi

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least nine people were killed on Saturday in two separate attacks in an area southeast of Baghdad torn by sectarian violence, police said.

A mortar round landed in a crowded market near a bus station and killed seven people and wounded 20 in the town of Gisr Diyala near Salman Pak, while a car bomb near a police checkpoint in Salman Pak killed two civilians and wounded three police officers.

The attacks took place as Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said he would issue a presidential decree to convene parliament while a daytime curfew was lifted which prevented vehicle traffic on Friday.

Talabani's security adviser, Wafiq al-Samarraie, said the president was calling for all militia to lay down their weapons and join the political process.

"It's a clear and open call for the brothers who carry weapons," said Samarraie. "My brothers, continuing military operations is not in the supreme interest of the nation."

Samarraie, was speaking after a news conference in Baghdad by General John Abizaid, the Central Command chief who oversees military operations in the Middle East.

"The situation in Iraq is in the hands of the Iraqi people," Abizaid said. "The government of national unity must be formed to bring the country together."

The streets of Baghdad were reported to be quiet the day after the government-imposed daytime curfew.

An overnight curfew is continually enforced, but the government has imposed daytime curfews on certain days, including the Muslim prayer day on Friday, to help stem violence that escalated after the bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in Samarra on February 22.

Iraqi police and troops, some in Soviet-built tanks, blocked deserted streets on Friday. U.S. forces kept a low profile.

HOPES DASHED    Continued ...



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