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| Iraq |
| Gunmen ambush electoral officials in southern Iraq |
| 2008-08-19 |
| Masked gunmen ambushed a bus carrying election workers in southern Iraq on Monday, killing two of them including an official known for resisting interference by Shiite religious extremists, authorities said. The attack on the bus occurred when gunmen opened fire as their car passed it in the Abu al-Khasib area south of Basra, police and election officials said. A third election employee was wounded. The dead included the head of a local government committee preparing for provincial elections, Maath Wahab, and his deputy, Jassim Mohammed, according to Hazim al-Rubaie, director of Basra electoral committee. No group claimed responsibility and no arrests have been made. But local officials said Wahab was known for resisting interference in the electoral process by Shiite religious extremists. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared for their own safety. Provincial elections are expected late this year and will likely redistribute power among Iraq's political and ethnic groups. No date has been set because legislation has been stalled in the national parliament, but preparations have begun nationwide. Control of polling places would enable parties to manipulate the results. Voters will select members of the provincial councils in Iraq's 18 provinces. Under the 2005 constitution, those councils will wield considerable power over security and resources, including Basra's vast oil wealth. Basra had been under the control of rival Shiite militias until Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched a military operations last March that wrested control from the gunmen. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |