Ayat Sistani sticks to election call; Mosques under attack

By: Hamoud Kufi

BAGHDAD, Iraq: Ayatullah Ali As-Sistani will drop a call for an early election in Iraq only if the United Nations declares a vote impossible, member of Iraq’s US-installed Governing Council Mowaffak Ar-Rubaie said Friday.

Ar-Rubaie stated this after he along with another member of the council Ahmed Al-Jalbi held talks with the Ayatullah in the holy city of Najaf on Thursday.

Meanwhile, mosques in Baghdad are under attack as unknown terrorists burnt several copies of holy Quran at At-Tawhid mosque in Baghdad's western Hurriyah district Thursday. Tuesday, Al-Mustafa mosque in the district was bombed, leaving three people martyred.

END

Report: Israel trains US killing squads in Iraq

LONDON: Britain's Guardian daily reported in its Tuesday editions that Israeli consultants are helping train US Special Forces in counter-insurgency operations in Iraq including the use of assassination squads against guerrilla leaders.

FULL STORY..

Iraq sets to formally establish war crimes tribunal

BAGHDAD, Iraq: Iraqi Governing Council member Mowaffak Ar-Rubaie declared Wednesday that country’s interim leadership voted for formation of a special tribunal to try Saddam Hussein-era atrocities.

FULL STORY..

Cairo-Tehran call for US withdrawal from Iraq

GENEVA: Egyptian and Iranian presidents have emphasized that US-led occupying forces must quit Iraq and transfer that country's power to the Iraqi people.

FULL STORY..