Car bomb attack on embassy

A CAR bomb exploded near the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad yesterday, killing the driver and wounding more than a dozen others.

The suicide attack came amid widespread Iraqi anger over Turkish plans to deploy troops in the country.

It was the latest in a string of bombings to shake the Iraqi capital. Two days ago, a car bomb targeted the Baghdad Hotel, home to US officials and members of the Iraqi Governing Council. At least eight people including the bomber were killed.

In yesterday's attack, the car tried to approach the embassy in the mid-afternoon and suddenly exploded, witnesses said.

A concrete security barrier close to the embassy absorbed most of the blast and prevented further damage and injuries, US officials said.

Osman Paksut, Turkey's ambassador to Baghdad, said three embassy employees were slightly injured.

"The bomb explosion shattered all windows and caused some cracks in the building," he said.

"This is undoubtedly the work of circles who don't want Iraq to stand up as a normal, stable, democratic country...This is the act of those who want to turn Iraq into a terror paradise."

Col Peter Mansoor of the US 1st Armoured Division said the vehicle's driver was killed. However, Iraqi witnesses said a second person also died and more than a dozen were injured.

Meanwhile, the US has called for a vote this week on a new resolution that would set a December 15 deadline for Iraq's Governing Council to submit a timetable for drafting a constitution and holding elections.

But the revised US draft does not meet the key demand of France, Germany, Russia and Secretary General Kofi Annan for a quick handover of power to an Iraqi provisional government within months.

President George Bush's main aim in seeking a new resolution is to get more countries to contribute troops and money to stabilise and rebuild Iraq. The resolution would authorise a multinational force sought by some potential troop-contributing nations led by the US.

Even if there are no further changes, the resolution is likely to get the minimum nine "yes" votes needed for adoption.

France has ruled out using its veto but some council members are concerned at the mixed message the council would send if the resolution was only approved by a slim margin.

The revised resolution would give the UN a larger role in Iraq's political transition to a democracy, but the world body would not be able to act independently of the US-led coalition now running the country as Mr Annan has sought.

Initial reactions to the proposed resolution were mixed.

Germany's Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer called the draft "a step in the right direction," while France's Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said more analysis was needed of the changes,.

The new US draft reaffirms Iraq's sovereignty and underlines "the temporary nature" of the occupation by the US-led coalition.

Russia intends to suggest several amendments to the US draft, Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov said.

Mr Fedotov said Moscow planned to suggest "a series of additional but very important amendments".

He said Russia's position on the resolution would depend on "the readiness of the authors of the draft resolution to take into account these ideas of ours".

He did not say what the proposed amendments would entail.