Bombs kill 19 in Iraq after lull in violence

BAGHDAD - Three bombs killed at least 19 people in Iraq today, breaking a relative lull in guerrilla violence as the US ambassador warned against sectarianism and militias in the new government.

The bloodiest attack took place in the Kadhimiya district of central Baghdad, where a suicide bomber strapped with explosives climbed aboard a bus and blew himself up, killing at least 12 people, Interior Ministry sources said.

The violence reminded Iraqi politicians of the security crisis they will face after forming a new government, a process that has yet to kick off more than two months after elections that Washington had hoped would ease sectarian strife.

In unusually strong language, US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad warned Iraqi leaders that Washington would not tolerate sectarianism or militias in the new government and its security forces.

"The ministers of interior, defence, national intelligence, the national security adviser have to be people who are non- sectarian, broadly acceptable, non-militia-related that will work for all Iraqis," he told a news conference.

"The United States is investing billions of dollars into these forces, military and police forces of Iraq. American taxpayers expect their money to be spent properly. We are not going to invest the resources of the American people into forces run by people who are sectarian..."

Control of those security forces is expected to be one of the most explosive issues as Iraq's Shi'ite, Kurd and Arab Sunni politicians negotiate over ministries.

Those talks will be closely watched by the United States, which says it can only send its troops home when Iraq has built up strong security forces which can take on insurgents on their own and inspire confidence in Iraqis.

That is unlikely to happen anytime soon. Few units can defend themselves, let alone protect Iraqis who have watched the insurgency and sectarian strife tear apart their country.

In the northern city of Mosul, a bomb planted inside a restaurant killed four civilians and one policeman, police said.

A car bomb exploded near a local council building in southeast Baghdad, killing at least two people and wounding 11, police said.

Militias such as the Shi'ite Badr Brigade are said to have more power than security forces, a situation that prompted Khalilzad to also warn Iraqi leaders they would face a culture of warlords if militias are not disbanded.

Aside from trying to improve security forces, Iraq's new Shi'ite and Kurdish leaders have embarked on a strategy of drawing Sunnis into the political process in a bid to defuse the Sunni insurgency.

Those efforts have been tarnished by Sunni accusations that the Shi'ite-led Interior Ministry sanctions militia death squads that operate with impunity. The ministry denies the charges.

The Iraqi Islamic Party, which forms the bulk of the biggest Sunni bloc in parliament, called on the government today to make serious efforts to root out death squads.

- REUTERS