Few MPs attend Iraqi parliament session after suicide bombing

Few Iraqi MPs managed to attend a rare emergency legislative session today after a suicide bomber ripped through their cafeteria in a brazen attack inside Baghdad’s US-guarded Green Zone.

Iraqi and American officials today revised their estimates of those killed in yesterday’s suicide bombing, which penetrated several layers of security. The US issued a statement saying one civilian was killed.

But Iraqi parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani opened today’s session by asking members of recite verses from the Koran to mourn the death of a “hero, the parliament member Mohammed Awad”. Awad, a Sunni, was a member of the moderate National Dialogue Front. Party leader Saleh al-Mutlaq also confirmed his death, and said a female politician from the same list was wounded.

Later in the session, politicians placed a bouquet of red and white flowers on Awad’s empty seat.

Today’s emergency meeting had been scheduled to begin at 11am local time, but began nearly an hour-and-a-half late – apparently because of low turnout and increased security measures.

Many Politicians were unable to reach the parliament building, still in a shambles today, because of a weekly driving ban on the Muslim day of rest.

“Very few parliament members showed up because of the curfew,” said Mohammed Abu Bakr, head of the parliament’s media office. “Also the MPs’ turnout is very low today because most of them are visiting those who were wounded by the blast,” he said.

In his opening remarks, al-Mashhadani called the meeting “a clear message to all the terrorists and all those who dare try to stop this (political) process, that we will sacrifice in order for it to continue”.

“We feel today that we are stronger that yesterday,” he said.

’“The parliament, government and the people are all the same – they are all in the same ship which, if it sinks, will make everyone sink,” al-Mashhadani said.