3 killed as roadside bombs hit central Iraq

updated 7:43 p.m. ET April 9, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Five roadside bombs killed at least three people in Iraq on Sunday — the three-year anniversary of the Baghdad’s fall to U.S. forces. Iraq police and soldiers bolstered security in the capital to prevent attacks on “Freedom Day.”

The holiday marks the April 9, 2003, event in which a huge crowd of Iraqis cheered as U.S. Marines hauled down the statue of Saddam Hussein on Firdous Square, marking the collapse of his regime.

American troops killed eight suspected insurgents in a pre-dawn raid north of the capital. Drivers in the capital were stopped and searched by Iraqi forces at extra checkpoints in the city.

Most Iraqis welcomed the end of Saddam’s regime, but the insurgency, militias, rising sectarian violence, electricity shortages and political vacuum have all sapped much of the enthusiasm generated by the collapse of dictatorship.

“Iraqis are pleased and displeased,” said Qassim Hassan, a soldier. “They are pleased because they got rid of tyranny and dictatorship, but they are displeased because they went from bad to worse. The Iraqi street is seething between sadness and terrorism.”

U.S. diplomat: ‘Much work remains’
Even U.S. officials acknowledged the mixed nature of the Iraq war’s current stage.

“Despite much progress, much work remains,” U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Gen. George W. Casey, Jr. said in a joint statement. “The legitimate security forces must quell sectarian violence. Population centers must be secure to allow Iraq’s new institutions to take root and businesses to flourish. Finally, the people must be able to trust their leadership.”

Efforts to form a new government have reached a deadlock over the nomination of Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari for a new term. Shiite politicians met Sunday to discuss the impasse, but made no decision to replace al-Jaafari as their nominee, officials said.

Instead, representatives from the seven factions of the United Iraqi Alliance, the Shiite bloc, formed a three member committee better ascertain the reasons for Sunni and Kurdish opposition to al-Jaafari, said Shiite official Ridha Jawad Taqi.

Prime minister blamed
The Shiite alliance will meet again Monday to review the committee’s findings, he said.

Sunni and Kurdish leaders blame al-Jaafari for failing to curb rising sectarian violence. A Sunni politician, Saleh al-Mutlaq, suggested that Shiites pick an independent candidate for prime minister, one who does not come from one of the major political parties.

Until a new government is in place, the violence is not expected to decrease and the U.S. government is unlikely to begin troop withdrawal.

In a pre-dawn raid Sunday, clashes erupted when U.S. forces surrounded a suspected safehouse and nearby tent on the northern outskirts of Baghdad. After being fired upon, troops gunned down five suspected insurgents, and three others were killed in an air strike.

Bombs and weapons were found inside the house, a U.S. statement said.

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