Baghdad, Iraq – At least nine bombs exploded in the Iraqi capital Sunday, killing 35 Iraqis and two U.S. soldiers as the country’s politicians wrangled over the rules and composition of their new government.
The string of attacks in Baghdad, the bloodiest in weeks, was accompanied by reports of violence in other areas: Two British soldiers were killed Saturday night when their armored vehicle struck a roadside bomb near Basra in southern Iraq, British military authorities said, and attackers bombed five Shiite Muslim shrines in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad.
The attacks came as the Iraqi parliament met for the third time since choosing Nouri al-Maliki, a member of the leading Shiite coalition of parties, as its prime minister-designate. Al-Maliki was given until May 22 to choose his Cabinet.
Though some politicians have said for the past several days that an announcement is imminent, others say there are still considerable obstacles to assembling a government that would satisfy the country’s Shiite, Kurd, Sunni Arab and secular parties.
U.S. officials and military leaders have held out hope that the formation of a government that united these groups would calm the situation in the country, quelling the kind of violence that erupted again Sunday.
In the deadliest attack, two suicide bombers in cars loaded with explosives blew themselves up among people gathered in a large, dirt parking lot just outside the airport, killing 14 Iraqis, U.S. military authorities said in a statement.
The lot was guarded until recently by Global Security, a private security company. U.S. troops have also reduced their presence in the area.
“I was expecting this, because Global Security moved the checkpoint away and left this parking lot uncontrolled,” said an airport employee.
In another nearby attack, five Iraqis were killed by a suicide bomber at a checkpoint along the Baghdad airport road, police said.
Two suicide bombers were driving a car loaded with explosives when one of them stepped out to distract the soldiers while the other one detonated the bomb, said Col. Sami Hassan, an Interior Ministry spokesman.
Bombs killed 16 others in Baghdad, according to police and news reports. The two U.S. soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb Sunday evening in eastern Baghdad, military authorities said in a statement.
In restive Diyala province, attackers also bombed five small Shiite shrines 35 miles northeast of the capital, police said.
