Iraq talks falter as gunmen kill eight in Baghdad shop

[deadparrot]

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Critical talks for Iraq's long-awaited national unity government stumbled with the cancellation of a key meeting as gunmen in police commando uniforms killed eight people inside a Baghdad shop.

The meeting, which was to have been hosted by President Jalal Talabani, was cancelled after Sunnis and Shiites clashed over who will control the security portfolio in the next government.

"The Shiites want the prime minister who is their candidate to hold the security file, while the Sunnis want a say in this and want a deputy premier who will also hold the security file under the supervision of the prime minister," lawmaker Mahmud Othman told AFP.

"This is the dispute at the moment, but we expect this to be solved in the next couple of days."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/iraq

[acmavm]

1. Hold the security file? Hell, they can come here and I'll let them

hold all the files they want. I hate filing.

[struggle4progress]

2. Gunmen murder scores in Baghdad

March 30, 2006

By Baghdad

Gunmen lined up 14 employees working at an electronics store in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad yesterday morning and shot them all, killing eight and wounding six, police said, the latest in a series of raids targeting lucrative businesses in the capital. <snip>

On Monday and Tuesday, a total of 35 people were abducted in four attacks, including two on electronics dealers and one on a money-changer where the attackers also stole $50 000 (R506 000). <snip>

Around 30 to 40 bodies, many shot in the head and showing signs of torture, are being found on the streets of the capital every day, morgue officials say. <snip> - Reuters & Sapa-AP

http://www.themercury.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=284&fArticleId=3181718

[Erika]

3. But Kooligan showed us a far different picture of Baghdad

Oh, the repub got the wrong country and the wrong city. The truth can be found at www.icasualties.org

[struggle4progress]

7. Why don't you want everyone to hear the good news from Turkey?

[northofdenali]

8. No, no, just Isanbul.

:P

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. jr figures these guys will get tired of killing people and

just go away.

[Roland99]

5. In other news, 58F and sunny in Baghdad

http://weather.cnn.com/weather/forecast.jsp?locCode=ORBB

See? It's not all bad!

[BenDavid]

6. And have you all noticed this

week in the coverage of Iraq and the presdient and this immigration debate. Always hooking bush on the right side with the democrats. You talk about a positive spin for bush. Just proves the point the media cannot help him out of this mess in Iraq, so they give the best positive spin they can to help bush with this immigration debate in the congress....