Iraqi PM meets with main rival in apparent attempt to mend bitter feud

Iraqi PM meets with main election rival

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi prime minister has met with his main election rival in what was widely viewed as an attempt to mend their bitter political feud and resolve the country’s political deadlock.

The Tuesday meeting was the second between the two men who are competing to be the next prime minister after the inconclusive March 7 election.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki visited Ayad Allawi at his Baghdad office, and the two men warmly shook hands before sitting down to a closed-door meeting.

Allawi heads the Iraqiya list, which garnered heavy support with Iraq’s minority Sunni community. His list earned 91 seats in the parliament to 89 seats for al-Maliki’s list. But neither won the majority needed to govern outright.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of bombings around Iraq Tuesday claimed eight lives, including four policemen, a Baghdad provincial council official and an Iraqi army general, Iraqi officials said.

While violence has dropped overall across the country, the attacks underline the continued threat to government employees and members of the security forces, who are often targeted by insurgents trying to destabilize the country.

The four policemen were killed when an explosives-laden car detonated next to a police patrol in the town of Beiji, 155 miles (250 kilometers) north of Baghdad, said Iraqi police officials. A civilian in a nearby vehicle was also killed and at least seven civilians were wounded in that attack.

A brigadier general with the Iraqi army was killed when a so-called sticky bomb attached to his car exploded in Kazimiyah, a primarily Shiite district in northern Baghdad, police and hospital officials said.

An official with the Baghdad provincial council, Qahtan Abdul-Hussein, died when a sticky bomb attached to his vehicle went off Tuesday morning as he was driving through a security checkpoint in the mainly Shiite district of Hurriyah in northern Baghdad, the Baghdad provincial council said in a press release.

“Terrorists have killed an official in charge of the social welfare department in Baghdad’s provincial council,” the council said in a press release. “This cowardly terrorist attack will not undermine its (the council’s) employees from carrying out their jobs in serving Baghdad and its people.”

According to the statement, a policeman at the checkpoint was also injured in the incident.

In a separate attack in Beiji, police said gunmen opened fire on an oil truck traveling on a highway just outside the city, killing its driver. Oil-related infrastructure such as pipelines or refineries have often been targeted by insurgents looking to disrupt the flow of oil and hurt Iraq’s oil income.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.