Baghdad, Iraq – One of Iraq’s deputy prime ministers was seriously wounded Friday in a bombing that highlighted the ability of insurgents to breach heightened security in the midst of a U.S.-led crackdown in Baghdad.
The attack against Salam al-Zubaie, one of the highest-ranking Sunni Arabs in the Shiite-led government, killed at least six people and injured 15 others as they were preparing for a prayer service at al-Zubaie’s home, Brig. Qassim al-Moussawi, spokesman for the Baghdad security plan, said at a news conference. The attack involved two simultaneous blasts: a suicide bombing in the house and a car bomb detonated in a garage attached to the house.
Al-Zubaie, whose lungs and stomach were punctured by shrapnel, underwent surgery at Ibn Sina military hospital in the Green Zone, officials said. He was in stable condition Friday afternoon, according to a statement issued by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni insurgent umbrella network that includes al-Qaeda in Iraq, asserted responsibility for the attack in an Internet statement, saying al-Zubaie was a “betrayer” for joining the government.
“We ask Allah … that this betrayer vagabond who sold his religion and his people for a small price not be safe. We say to all betrayers of the infidel al- Maliki government … wait for what will hurt you,” the statement said, according to a translation by the SITE Institution, an organization that tracks terrorism. The authenticity of the statement could not be confirmed.
A top aide to al-Zubaie said the suicide bomber was sneaked onto the property over a back fence by one of al-Zubaie’s cooks.
The cook briefly hid the bomber between the fence and blast walls, then sneaked the attacker inside when security guards went to pray, said the aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he fears retaliation. The car that was bombed belonged to the cook, who escaped and remains at large, the aide said.
Dafir al-Ani, a member of parliament from al-Zubaie’s Iraqi Islamic Party, said the attack showed violence remained a major obstacle in the path to political stability.
“They are developing ways to beat the measures of the security plan,” he said of Sunni insurgents. “All of us are targeted. And terrorists can get into bedrooms.”
