Baghdad (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The head of Iraqi Governing Council was killed Monday in a car bombing near a U.S. checkpoint in central Baghdad, together with four Iraqis. The car blast is probably work of a suicide bomber
Abdel-Zahraa Othman, also known as Izzadine Salim was a Shiite leader of the Islamic Dawa Movement in the southern city of Basra. He was a writer, philosopher and political activist, who served as editor of several newspapers and magazines.
The attack took place amid rising turmoil in Iraq as this country prepares for the United States to transfer power to an Iraqi interim government June 30. It underscores the risks facing those perceived as owing their power to the Americans.
Reacting to the news, Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Mr Salim's killing would not derail the political process. And Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said that the killing is another sign that terrorist groups are trying to derail democratization process in Iraq; restoration of sovereignity on June 30 remains "on track."
Salim was the second member of the U.S. appointing Governing Council to be assassinated since the group was established last July. Aquila al-Hashimi, one of three women on the 25-member body, was mortally wounded Sept. 20 when gunmen in a pickup truck ambushed her car as she drove near her Baghdad home. She died five days later.