U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a surprise visit to Baghdad on Saturday, an eerily quiet day for the Iraqi capital in the early stages of a plan aimed at stemming sectarian violence.
Her visit followed days in which Iraqi officials pointed to hopeful signs the violence had slowed–optimism tempered by U.S. spokesmen who said it was too early to draw conclusions amid signs militias were waiting out the security push or fleeing to nearby areas.
“If in fact militias decide to stand down and stop killing innocent Iraqis … that can’t be a bad thing,” Rice told reporters traveling with her.
“But how the Iraqis use the breathing space that that might provide is what’s really important,” she said before meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
As the meeting went on, violence erupted elsewhere.
In the northern oil city of Kirkuk, a booby-trapped car and then a suicide bomber in a minivan attacked a crowded market and bus station. At least 11 people died and 65 others were wounded in the blasts, which took place in a mostly Kurdish section of Kirkuk, a divided city that also contains Sunni Arabs and Turkmens.
In the embattled provinces to the northeast of Baghdad, an ongoing campaign by U.S. and Iraqi forces sought to clamp down on insurgents fleeing the capital.
To stop them, the Army’s 82nd Airborne division set up checkpoints with Iraqi police and soldiers on the boundary between Baghdad and Salahuddin province after an operation against other insurgents north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. Other fighting in neighboring Diyala province has been ongoing for weeks as Sunni insurgents battle with the Shiite minority.
The U.S. also announced the death of a Marine in western Anbar province Saturday. The Marine was killed Friday; a statement provided no details.
Iraqi television showed images of the Kirkuk bombing, which tore through cars, shops and homes in the Rahim Awa market in the northern part of the city. Among the devastated cars and shops, the midday attack ripped the front off what appeared to have been a plush restaurant.
In Karbala, a suicide bomber exploded his car when challenged at a checkpoint.
Southeast of Baghdad, a tip from residents led Iraqi security forces to a weapons cache that included as many as 50 anti-aircraft missiles apparently intended to be used against U.S. helicopters, according to the government. In recent weeks at least six helicopters have crashed after coming under fire, American officials have said.
Elsewhere on Saturday, gunmen assassinated secular Shiite leader Adil al-Khafaji, head of the National Coalition of Iraqi Tribes, at his home near the Buratha mosque in Baghdad, according to a statement from the political party of former interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.
Later, al-Maliki announced the Baghdad security plan has been named “Operation Impose Law.” Previous security pushes in the capital included “Operation Together Forward” and “Operation Thunder.”
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jjanega@tribune.com
