Thirteen die in Baghdad suicide attack

A suicide bomber killed 13 people in an attack today next to the heavily fortified area in central Baghdad housing the interim government and US embassy, while eight US Marines died in combat in western Iraq.

In the southern city of Basra, insurgents fired mortar shells at the British consulate but caused no casualties, a spokeswoman said.

Fifteen people were also injured in the Baghdad attack, which occurred when a vehicle waiting in line to enter the zone at its western Harthiyah gate exploded as it drove toward the checkpoint, Iraqi police said. The US military said there were no injuries among its troops.

All the casualties were taken to western Baghdad’s Yarmouk Hospital, hospital officials said.

The international zone has been the scene of frequent attacks by insurgents during the past 18 months, killing and wounding dozens of people in car bombings or mortar barrages.

The Marines were killed yesterday in separate incidents during continuing violence in Anbar province, a vast region in western Iraq comprising the battleground cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, the military said.

The deaths equalled the highest number of Marines killed in a single day since a car bomb killed eight outside Fallujah on October 30, which was the deadliest attack against the US military in nearly six months.

The latest deaths bring to nearly 1,300 the number of American troops killed in Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003.

US forces retook Fallujah from the insurgents in a bloody battle last month in which hundreds died, including at least 54 Americans.

At the time, US commanders claimed the action had broken the back of the insurgency in the mainly Sunni Muslim areas of western Iraq, but fighting in the region has continued.

Yesterday, American jets pounded parts of Fallujah with missiles as insurgents fought running battles with coalition forces. At least 10 precision guided bombs were dropped on suspected rebel positions.

“The strikes were conducted throughout the day and were called in by troops in armed contact with and observing the enemy moving from house to house,” said spokesman Lt. Lyle Gilbert said.

It was unclear whether the latest Marine deaths were connected with those clashes. The military yesterday said only seven Marines died while conducting “security and stabilisation operations” in Anbar province. Another Marine was reported killed in a separate clash.

In the nearby town of Ramadi, 30 miles west of Fallujah, insurgents launched several “indirect fire” attacks on US Marine bases yesterday, resulting in retaliatory artillery and mortar fire by American troops, Marine spokesman Capt. Brad Gordon said.

US artillery fire killed one woman in the city, said Dr. Di’a al-Hiti from Ramadi Hospital.

And a US base in Abu Ghraib area, just west of Baghdad, was hit by several mortar shells early today, said Iraqi police Lt. Ahmed Ismael.

Yesterday, a lawyer for one of ex-dictator Saddam Hussein’s top aides said a number of top leaders from the former regime had stopped taking meals in protest against the conditions of their detention and upcoming trials.

In Jordan, Saddam’s attorneys released a statement ahead of today’s first anniversary of his capture saying US and Iraqi forces were holding the former president illegally.

“It was more of a forced abduction that later became compulsory concealment and solitary confinement, acts rejected by all international conventions,” said a statement released by the team, which cited human rights conventions Washington allegedly had violated.

Saddam’s lawyers were appointed by his wife, Sajida, but have not been able to contact their client.

None were at his side when he was arraigned July 1 in Baghdad on preliminary charges, including killing rival politicians, gassing Kurds, invading Kuwait in 1990 and suppressing popular uprisings in 1991.

Meanwhile, preparations for Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary election have continued, with several more parties and coalitions submitting candidates’ lists to the national electoral commission. The future legislature’s main task will be to draft a new constitution for Iraq.

Two moderate, mainly Sunni Muslim parties announced they would field slates for the polls, indicating an apparent strengthening of support for the vote among the religious minority, despite calls from some Sunni politicians for a boycott.

Sunnis traditionally have enjoyed significant privilege in Iraq, but have lost their political ascendancy since Saddam’s fall. The country’s majority Shiites - 60% of the population – are expected to exploit their weight of numbers and dominate the post-election legislature.