Two more US soldiers were killed, and a deadly bombing attack left 11 Iraqis dead on Thursday, as the Iraq Governing Council (IGC) hastened its steps in taking over the police task in the war-shattered country.
The US military said on Thursday two soldiers of 1st Armored Division were killed as they exchanged fires with Iraqi fighters in al-Rashid district of Baghdad late Wednesday. Another US soldier and an Iraqi interpreter were wounded in the clash, it added.
The death toll of American soldiers climbed to 55 since May 1, when US President George W. Bush announced that the major combat in Iraq was over on May 1.
Thursday morning saw another devastating bomb attack taking place in front of the Jordanian Embassy in western Baghdad. Eleven people were killed and nearly 60 others wounded.
Five Iraqi policemen were reportedly among the dead and seven of the injured were from inside the embassy compound.
The blast, which occurred at 11:05 a.m. local time (0705 GMT), set ablaze five passing vehicles, and several other cars parking in front of the embassy.
A US military officer told Xinhua that he couldn't determine the cause or the potential target of the attacks, but said it might be a remote-controlled bomb planted in one of the damaged cars.
Shortly after the explosion, angry Iraqis stormed the embassy's damaged porch, tore down the Jordanian flag, ripped off portraits of Jordanian King Abdullah II and his late father, King Hussein.
The crowd chanted anti-Jordanian slogans to protest Jordan's offer of "humanitarian" refuge to Saddam Hussein's daughters, Raghad and Rana, a week ago.
Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of US forces in Iraq, termed the bombing as a "terrorist" attack and called for international condemnation on it.
Observers said it was a sort of threat to the pro-American interests and the US presence in Iraq, and security could hardly be restored unless the US troops left the country and hand the police task to Iraqis.
The deadliest attack was the first against a foreign embassy since the US troops occupied the Iraqi capital on April 9, they noted.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack but those who regard Jordan as a betrayer to Iraq or those resenting its acceptance of Saddam's relatives were believed to be behind it.
Later in the day, Jordanian Information Minister Nabil al-Sharif condemned the explosion as a cowardly terrorist attack. He said in a statement that the attack will "reinforce Jordan's determination to help the Iraqi people achieve security and stability."
Jordan did not take part in the war to oust Saddam, but it hosted hundreds of US troops in the name of protecting its land and airspace during the wartime.
IGC Urges to Establish Iraqi Police Force
Members of IGC held a meeting Thursday with US Central Command chief John Abizaid and the civil administrator Paul Bremer, urging to put in place a fully-equipped Iraqi police force which can take over security duties.
Abizaid said a new Iraqi police would take up security functions in various parts of Iraq once the process of setting up the force has been completed.
On Wednesday, the IGC decided to ask the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority to empower the council to deal with the problem of security. The members laid out a plan to train an up to 60,000 police force by the end of the year, at an expense of US$200 million.
In a statement on Tuesday, Ibrahim al-Jafaari, the first IGC president said that security issue in Iraq was one of the Council's priorities.
"We want crimes to be fought by Iraqis, and we do not have a problem in this field," he told the Qatar-based al-Jazeera TV channel.
Observers believe that no genuine reconstruction of war-torn Iraq could be started before security being firmly established in the oil-rich country.
Security has deteriorated in Iraq as a result of power vacuum left by the fall of the Saddam regime. Anti-American explosions were rampant in post-war Iraq and the US military blamed the attacks on the remnants of the former regime and foreign terrorists.
In another sign that the IGC had stepped up their process in taking over post-Saddam Iraq, al-Jafaari said in a report released on Thursday that the 25 council members had agreed in principle that a federal regime be adopted in the war-torn country.
However, he admitted that a federation could not be set up until it is determined and stipulated in the future constitution, which is expected to be drafted out soon.
(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2003)
