48 Killed in Suicide Attack Outside Iraq Recruitment Center
Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 48 people were killed and scores were wounded Tuesday morning when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vest in central Baghdad as men were queuing up outside an Iraqi army recruitment center, the interior ministry said.
The attack took place in the Bab al-Moudham commercial area. It comes amid the country's failure to form a government and the United States' troop drawdown ahead of President Barack Obama's August 31 deadline for ending all combat operations.
At least 129 people were wounded in the blast.
The U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq, or UNAMI, condemned the act and issued its concern over continued acts of violence in the country, "including those perpetrated during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan that symbolizes the values of peace, tolerance, generosity and solidarity."
"UNAMI reiterates that agreement on the formation of the government will greatly contribute to strengthening Iraq's ability to protect its citizens and respond effectively to those who aim at perpetuating instability and insecurity in the country and reversing its path towards peace and prosperity."
The Iraqi government has been pushing to increase security ahead of the drawdown, which would leave a residual U.S. force of 50,000 troops focused on stability operations as well as advising and assisting Iraqi security forces.
Recruitment centers have come under attack in recent months, and many Iraqis have blamed a recent wave of violence on the current political paralysis -- in which quarreling parties have failed to form a government nearly six months after parliamentary elections.
Extremist groups, such as al Qaeda in Iraq, are known to take advantage of political fissures to carry out more attacks to create further turmoil.
The political crisis worsened on Monday when former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's al-Iraqiya party announced that it was suspending talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's coalition in response to comments he made in a television interview.
Maysoon al-Damalouji, a spokeswoman for al-Iraqiya, told CNN the group decided to suspend negotiations after al-Maliki described Allawi's candidate list as a "Sunni list" in an interview aired Monday by the U.S.-funded network Alhurra.
Al-Damalouji said they were demanding an apology to the supporters of al-Iraqiya. Allawi, a secular Shiite, heads the cross-sectarian al-Iraqiya list, which won the largest number of seats in the March 7 national elections. Al-Iraqiya garnered most of the Sunni Arab vote.
The four top blocs are involved in weeks-long negotiations to try to build a coalition with enough seats to form a government.
A fragile mega-Shiite coalition was formed in May between al-Maliki's State of Law and the Iranian-backed Iranian National Alliance, which includes the followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, but the coalition collapsed this month after the INA rejected al-Maliki's nomination for a second term.
Allawi and al-Maliki both claim the right to lead the next government. The two blocs have been holding talks.
To form a government, a 163-seat majority of 325 seats in parliament is needed. Allawi's bloc had a narrow victory with 91 seats, while al-Maliki won 89.
Western and Iraqi officials, including Allawi, have said Iraq's next government must be inclusive and representative, or violence could result.
Sunnis largely boycotted the 2005 elections, leading to the emergence of a Shiite-led government. The move left the once-ruling minority disaffected and that contributed to the a bloody insurgency and sectarian warfare that gripped Iraq for years.
By Mohammed Tawfeeq