Car bombs targeting Iraqi troops

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Two car bombs killed 12 Iraqi soldiers in separate attacks Wednesday, and the al-Qaida group in Iraq claimed responsibility for one. Officials also said the slayings of a lawyer and judge on Iraq's war crimes tribunal may have occurred because of their position on the court or because they were minority Kurds.

The first of the bombings targeted an Iraqi army base that occupies the former Muthanna airport in central Baghdad, killing eight troops. A second blast an hour later at an army checkpoint in south Baghdad killed four soldiers, police said. A Defense Ministry official said the attacks wounded 39 soldiers.

National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie vowed the government would hunt down those responsible. An attack Monday in Hillah, south of Baghdad, killed 125 people -- the deadliest single car bombing since Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003.

"The bombings in Hillah and again in Baghdad this morning are not going to derail the political process that Iraq is embarked upon," al-Rubaie said. "The Iraqi government will go after and hunt down each and every one of these terrorists whether in Iraq or elsewhere."

Meanwhile, the insurgent group Ansar al-Sunnah Army purportedly posted an Internet statement Wednesday claiming to have killed two Turkish drivers they abducted Feb. 25 on the road to the northern city of Kirkuk.

Also, a Swede of Iraqi descent kidnapped in Iraq last month pleaded for his life in a video left at the offices of an international news agency in Baghdad. Minas Ibrahim al-Yousifi had reportedly appeared in another video in February, appealing to the pope and Sweden's king to help win his release.

It was not possible to verify the authenticity of either the video of the Swede or the claim about the Turkish drivers.

The two slain men in Baghdad were judge Barwez Mohammed Mahmoud al-Merwani and his son, lawyer Aryan Barwez al-Merwani, according to the judge's son Kikawz Barwez Mohammed al-Merwani. He said gunmen in a speeding car raked the pair with gunfire as they were trying to get into a vehicle outside their home. Police Capt. Ali al-Obeidi said three gunmen were in the car, a green Opel.

The shootings in northern Baghdad's Azamyiah district on Tuesday marked the first time any legal staff working for the Iraqi Special Tribunal have been killed.

A day before the killings, the tribunal had issued referrals for five former regime members -- including one of Saddam's half brothers -- for crimes against humanity. Referrals are similar to indictments and are the final step before trials can start.

It wasn't immediately clear, however, if the killings were related to the court actions.

"We believe that the murder is politically motivated, because the two killed were working in the special tribunal and the son was a senior member in the PUK office in Baghdad. The late judge had no personal problems with anybody at all," the son said. "This is a terrorist act carried out by Baathists and terrorists."

PUK stands for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of two key northern Kurdish parties. U.S. authorities dissolved Saddam's former ruling Baath Party after ousting him from power.

Despite the heavy presence of U.S. and Iraqi security forces in Baghdad, many parts of the city remain lawless and it can be difficult to distinguish between insurgent killings and common crimes. Iraqis perceived as collaborating with the United States and the government are targeted relentlessly.

Judges and other legal staff working at the court have not been identified in public because of concerns for their safety, and tribunal officials have kept a low profile for the same reason, even refusing to say where the court is located.

The Iraqi Special Tribunal was set up in late 2003 after Saddam was toppled. But after five potential candidates were killed, some judges declined calls to work at the court. At least half of the tribunal's budget has gone to security.

Tuesday's slayings were unlikely to effect the trial process.

A court official, who declined to be named, said the slain judge was one of more than 60 investigative, appellate and trial judges working at the court.

An official familiar with the court said al-Merwani was an investigative judge. It was not known what cases he was working on, and other court officials could not be reached for comment.

In Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, clashes erupted between U.S. forces and gunmen after insurgents detonated a roadside bomb as a U.S. convoy passed. The explosion missed the convoy, but damaged two civilian cars that were in flames.

Elsewhere, U.S. forces "detained one suspected terrorist, killed two and injured another during operations in northern Iraq" on Wednesday, the military said in a statement from Mosul.

The first car bomb exploded outside an Iraqi army base in central Baghdad that has been targeted by insurgents several times over the last year.

In a statement posted on the Internet, al-Qaida in Iraq purportedly claimed responsibility for the Muthanna airport attack, saying it was a "martyrdom" operation. The authenticity of the statement could not be verified.

An Interior Ministry security official, Ayad Hadi al-Maliki, said six people were killed and 25 people were wounded in the blast, 15 of them civilians. A senior Interior Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least eight people died in the blast.

The explosion could be heard across the city, and a plume of black smoke billowed into the air. Flames leapt from two destroyed civilian vehicles. Debris was strewn around the area, and witnesses said the severed head of a female soldier lay on the ground.

U.S. and Iraqi troops blocked roads and sealed off the area after the attack, preventing people from entering. Helicopters hovered overhead.

Police officer Salam Hashim Mahmoud said the bomber drove up to the base gate, where army recruits normally line up to apply for jobs. Residents said Iraqi security forces opened fire after the incident.

About an hour later, another car bomb exploded in southern Baghdad's Doura neighborhood, killing four Iraqi soldiers at an army checkpoint and wounding three others, police said on condition of anonymity.

Also in Doura, two police were killed and five injured in clashes with militants, a Defense Ministry official said.

Al-Qaida in Iraq purportedly claimed responsibility for the clashes in Doura in a statement posted on the Internet. It was not possible to authenticate the statement. There was no claim of responsibility for the Doura car bombing.

---

Associated reporters Sameer N. Yacoub, Patrick Quinn, and Rawya Rageh in Baghdad contributed to this report.