British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in Baghdad on Tuesday, urging the country's divided population to build a broad national unity government. Straw is also expected to meet Iraq's Shi'ite Prime Minister Ibrahim Al Jaafari during his visit.
"This is a crucial moment today for the people of Iraq. We had the elections on December 15th. We've now had the final accredited results. What they show is that no party, no ethnic or religious grouping can dominate government in Iraq," he said, according to Reuters.
"This therefore gives further impetus to what Iraqis tell us they want, which is a government of national unity bringing together all the different elements of Iraqi society," Straw added.
The foreign secretary reiterated that Britain was working for democracy in Iraq.
"The international community, particularly those of us who have played a part in liberating Iraq have an interest in ... a prosperous, stable and democratic Iraq.
Straw's comments came amidst ongoing sectarian violence which has taken the lives of countless Iraqis.
Minister escapes assassination attempt
A car bomb went off Tuesday at an outdoor market in a Shiite area of southwestern Baghdad, killing 22 people and wounding 28, police said. According to the AP, Lt. Mohammed Khayoun said the car was parked along a street about 30 yards from a police checkpoint in a Shiite part of the Sunni neighborhood of Dora.
Earlier in the day, Iraqi Minister Suhaila Abd Jaafar survived an apparent assassination attempt when a roadside bomb targeted her convoy.
Abd Jaafar, Iraq's displacement and migration minister, survived the attack believed to be on her life, though Iraqi police said that three of Jaafar's guards were wounded in the incident.
An official in her office, however, stated that there had been no injuries in the attack.
Since many ministerial convoys are often attacked, authorities believed the explosion to be an assassination attempt. However, no solid evidence exists to support the claim.
Also on Tuesday, two people died, one policeman in a Baghdad roadside bombing and a civilian shot dead in the northern city of Baiji, security officials said.
© 2006 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
