Car bomb attack in Iraq kills 10

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Attackers detonated a car bomb near police and government buildings in the western city of Haditha on Thursday, killing 10 Iraqis, while the prime minister said he would create a new security service geared toward halting the insurgency.

Police apparently thwarted an attack in Karbala, where police chased a car after receiving a tip it was filled with explosives. The two militants inside detonated their bomb, killing only themselves and causing no other casualties.

On Wednesday, a suicide attacker in Baghdad killed at least 10 people in a car bombing near Iraqi government headquarters and insurgents assassinated a provincial governor in an ambush of his convoy.

Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said the General Security Directorate "will annihilate those terrorist groups, God willing."

At a news conference, Allawi said he had asked Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Morocco and Egypt to contribute troops to the multinational force here to help him secure the country. He also announced that he would be going on his first foreign tour as prime minister to nearby Arab countries.

The attack in Haditha, known as a stronghold of Saddam Hussein's ousted regime, hit a government complex that houses the police station, civil defense headquarters and the municipal building. In addition to the 10 killed, the blast wounded 27 people, said Col. Adnan Abdel-Rahman, spokesman for the Interior Ministry.

Police and government officials have repeatedly been targeted by insurgents, who view them as lackeys of U.S. forces here.

The new security service appears to be another step in the fledgling government's efforts to tackle the violence, which has wracked the country since the fall of Saddam's regime 15 months ago and has continued since the United States handed over power.

In remarks published in the al-Hayat newspaper, Allawi was quoted as saying Iraq has arrested operatives linked to al-Qaida and is seeing increasing coordination between the terror network and Iraqi insurgents loyal to Saddam.

He said that among al-Qaida operatives arrested by Iraqi forces were the driver of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian linked to al- Qaida who is accused of attacks and kidnappings in Iraq and elsewhere.

Allawi also said millions of dollars are being channeled by Saddam loyalists in neighboring countries to operatives with al-Qaida links in Iraq, such as al-Zarqawi's group, to carry out terror attacks.

Since taking power two weeks ago, Allawi's government has made clear it intended to crack down on militants who have caused chaos with assassinations, bombings and sabotage.

The government has passed emergency measures giving Allawi the power to declare curfews and impose limited martial law.

Insurgents detonated a massive car bomb Wednesday at a checkpoint just outside the so-called Green Zone, former home to the U.S. occupation government and current site of Iraq's interim government and the U.S. and British embassies. The blast ripped a crater in the road and killed 10 Iraqis, many as they waited in line to apply for government jobs, the Health Ministry said. The U.S. military said 11 were killed.

Hours later, insurgents tossed hand grenades and fired machine guns at a convoy transporting Nineveh Gov. Osama Youssef Kashmoula, killing him and two of his guards, Iraqi and U.S. military officials said. Four attackers also were killed in the ambush north of Baghdad, officials said.

In a separate attack Thursday, a rocket landed on a home in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, killing four people and wounding three others, police and hospital officials said.

A second rocket also struck a home in a former army base used by Kurdish refugees, injuring four people.

Also Thursday, saboteurs damaged oil pipelines in Iraq's north and south while insurgents gunned down an officer with the state-run oil company. The attacks did not cut exports.

Insurgents who have been kidnapping foreigners in Iraq and threatening to kill them have won victories recently in trying to pressure foreign governments and companies to pull out of the country.

A Saudi company employing an Egyptian driver held hostage said it would stop work here to win his freedom.

Faisal al-Naheet, whose company is a subcontractor for Al-Jarie Transport, told Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television that Al-Jarie "will stop our work in Iraq in order to save the life of the hostage who works for us as a driver."

It was unclear if al-Naheet meant the company was about to leave Iraq or was awaiting developments in the hostage's case before withdrawing.

Al-Naheet said the kidnappers also were demanding a $1 million in exchange for the hostage, 42-year-old Alsayeid Mohammed Alsayeid Algarabawi, but he said the company would not pay.

The move came after the Philippines said it had begun withdrawing its small peacekeeping contingent early, apparently giving in to the demand of kidnappers threatening to kill captive Filipino truck driver Angelo dela Cruz.

Another militant group headed by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al- Zarqawi killed one of two Bulgarian truck drivers it was holding hostage, the Bulgarian government confirmed Wednesday. In a video shown on Al-Jazeera early Wednesday, the group, which had demanded the release of Iraqi detainees, said it would kill the second man in 24 hours. The deadline passed with no word on his fate.

Elsewhere, two U.S. soldiers were killed and two others injured after their vehicle rolled over on a road in northern Iraq, the U.S. military said Thursday.

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