RAMADI, Iraqi police say a car bomb targeting a police building has killed three people in the capital of Iraq’s western Anbar province.The bombing comes as Iraq is preparing for March 7 parliamentary elections. Insurgents have been repeatedly targeting government institutions in Anbar and the rest of Iraq in an attempt to destabilize the country ahead of the vote.Police officials say a suicide bomber exploded the car outside the Internal Affairs office in the provincial capital, Ramadi.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.Anbar province was considered the hotbed of the insurgency until many fighters turned against the insurgents in what is considered one of the key turning points of the war.Three mortar rounds hit central Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone on Monday, injuring at least six people and damaging homes and cars, in the latest attack on government targets ahead of March 7 elections.
A police officer in the nearby Kharkh police department said he did not know whether Iraqi or American military personnel were among the injured. He and an Interior Ministry official who also confirmed the blast spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.The U.S. military said it had a report of an indirect fire incident in the Green Zone, referring to a rocket or mortar attack, but had no further information.Government targets such as the Green Zone, a sprawling area where the Iraqi government compound and U.S. Embassy are located, have increasingly come under assault as insurgents attempt to destabilize the Iraqi government ahead of the March 7 parliamentary vote.
Iraqi citizens who live in areas such as the Green Zone sometimes find themselves caught in the fire, hit by mortar rounds or rockets intended for government targets.While violence has fallen dramatically in Iraq since the height of sectarian tensions in 2006 and 2007, sporadic attacks still occur. Hundreds of people have been killed in attacks on government and other targets since August, angering many Iraqis who accuse their government of being unable to protect Iraqi. (AP)
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