19 killed in surge of violence as 29 kidnapped in Baghdad

At least 19 people, including four soldiers, were killed in a suicide bombing today, as gunmen in military fatigues kidnapped 29 people, the latest victims of the violence and lawlessness sweeping Iraq, police said.

The suicide bomber detonated a pick-up truck near an Iraqi observation post outside the northern town of Mosul, killing four soldiers and wounding six, said an army officer.

In a dramatic incident, gunmen in military uniforms drove to the main shopping area of Karrada in 15 four-wheeled vehicles today and split into two groups, one going into a mobile phone shop and the other into the office next door of the Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce, said police Lt. Thair Mahmoud.

They kidnapped 15 staff and customers from the shop and 11 from the chamber of commerce, he said. All were believed to be Iraqis. No other details were available.

In another incident, gunmen, dressed in commando uniforms, blocked a car carrying a millionaire businessman and his two sons in southeastern Baghdad, and kidnapped the three, police Lt. Bilal Ali Majeed said.

Kidnappings for ransom have become rampant in recent months as lawlessness has increased amid sectarian violence between the country’s Shiites and Sunnis.

Abductions are believed to be a major source of income not only for criminal gangs but also insurgents fighting US and Iraqi forces who are battling to bring normality to the country after the ousting of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003.

Calls have increased to replace Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani because of worsening security in Baghdad and surrounding towns, mostly blamed on sectarian conflict between the country’s Shiite and Sunni communities.

Al-Bolani is responsible for police and paramilitary commandos at the forefront of the fight against extremists in the capital.

Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, in a speech today, called for defeating sectarian forces.

“The power is in our hands … and we will continue hitting terrorism and … building Iraq brick by brick on the basis on equality and justice,” he said.

Random killings are now an almost daily occurrence.

Today, gunmen in a car shot and killed two people selling gas cylinders in Baghdad’s western Yarmouk neighbourhood, police Lt. Maitham Abdul-Razzaq said. A few hours earlier, gunmen opened fire on municipal street sweepers in the capital, killing one and injuring two, police Lt. Bilal Ali Majid said.

An hour earlier, a senior intelligence official was shot dead in his car in Baghdad. Two other people were killed today in other shooting incidents while one policeman was killed by a roadside bomb.

Also today, police discovered three bullet-riddled bodies – two had their hands and feet tied, while the third showed signs of torture.

Funerals were performed today for the five people who were beheaded yesterday by unidentified gunmen near the northern town of Hawija, 150 miles north of Baghdad, said police Col. Burhan Tayeb.