BAGHDAD — A car bomb exploded near a Kurdish party’s office Tuesday in Mosul, killing at least three Iraqi soldiers as tensions rose in volatile areas north of Baghdad ahead of pivotal elections.
Friction between Kurds and Sunni Arabs, as well as Sunnis and Shiites, has made northern Iraq a key battleground with just four days to go before the vote. Iraqis will choose ruling councils Saturday in most of the country’s provinces.
The blast in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, occurred near the offices of the Kurdish Democratic Party, or KDP, which is headed by Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani.
Iraqi security forces became suspicious of the vehicle, which blew up as a team approached to inspect it, an army officer said. The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release the information, said two soldiers and a civilian were wounded.
Hisham al-Gourani, a KDP official in Mosul, said the explosion took place about 100 yards from the KDP office, but the Kurds suffered no casualties.
Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred against a backdrop of heated rivalries between Kurds and mainly Sunni Arabs who are jockeying for power in Saturday’s vote to be held in 14 of Iraq’s 18 provinces.
Sunnis have a slight majority in Ninevah province, which includes Mosul, but they boycotted the January 2005 vote, leaving the Kurds with a disproportionate share of power on the 41-seat council. Insurgents also remain active in the north, despite numerous U.S.-Iraqi military operations.
Iraq said it will seal its borders and restrict travel between Baghdad and other provinces starting Friday. It also will close the airports and impose a vehicle ban for unofficial traffic to prevent car bombs. Polling sites will be reinforced with additional protective barriers and voters will be searched, with specially trained female volunteers deployed to help search women.
U.S. troops will help ensure roads are clear of explosives and will conduct patrols with their Iraqi partners, commanders said. But they will largely stay on the sidelines in what will be a major test of the Iraqis’ readiness to assume their own security as the American military begins to draw down its forces.
“We are in a complete support role leading up to the day of the elections,” said Col. Pat White, commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division.
