Baghdad Car Bombing Kills 8            09/05 09:07

   BAGHDAD (AP) -- Militants detonated a car bomb at a Baghdad military 
headquarters on Sunday and then tried to shoot their way into the building, 
killing eight people and wounding 29 in a brazen morning attack, Iraqi 
officials said.

   Immediately after the car exploded, gunmen assaulted the headquarters, 
battling the building's guards in a 15 minute firefight in downtown Baghdad, 
according to police officials.

   Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari told the Associated 
Press Television News that some of the gunmen were wearing explosives belts and 
were planning a second blast.

   "The plan was to strike twice," he said. "First with a car bomb and then 
with suicide bombers."

   Police and hospital officials said two people were killed by the blast and 
then six more died in the ensuing firefight. There were five soldiers among the 
dead.

   Security has been high in Baghdad in past days in anticipation of a new wave 
of attacks to mark the change in the U.S. mission. Insurgents have intensified 
their strikes on Iraqi police and soldiers, making August the deadliest month 
for Iraqi security personnel in two years.

   The building attacked on Sunday is the headquarters for the Iraqi Army's 
11th Division and an army recruitment center. In mid-August, the building was 
targeted by a suicide bomber who killed 61 people lined up outside on a 
recruiting day trying to get jobs.

   The Iraqi security forces are now solely responsible for protecting the 
country after President Barack Obama declared an end to U.S. combat operations 
on Wednesday. Many, however, doubt that Iraq's police and army are a match for 
the well-armed insurgency determined to bring down the Shiite-led government.

   Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, is struggling to keep his job 
after his political coalition came in a close second to a Sunni-dominated 
alliance in March parliamentary elections. Nearly six months later, there is 
still no new government.

   U.S. and Iraqi officials have long worried that political instability would 
lead to widespread violence in Iraq, and the lack of a power-sharing agreement 
among the competing leaders has only increased fears.

   Last week al-Maliki put his nation on its highest level of alert for terror 
attacks, warning of plots to sow fear and chaos in the country. He said 
insurgents would try to exploit widespread frustration with years of frequent 
power outages and problems with other public services by staging riots and 
attacks on government offices.


(KA)