The surprising calm following the Iraqi football victory masks heightened political confusion, reports Nermeen Al-Mufti Motor vehicles were banned from Iraqi streets during the AFC Asian Cup finals, won by Iraq on Sunday. The ban was enforced for reasons of public safety, a measure taken after car bombs were detonated during celebrations marking Iraq's victory in the semi-finals. The bombings claimed 50 lives. The television station Al-Sharqiya, now broadcasting from Dubai after its Baghdad studios were closed by order of the prime minister, cited military sources as saying that, "government agencies may be involved in the two bombings, because the attacks were not waged by suicide bombers." The government declined to comment on the report, while continuing to tighten security. It banned the firing of bullets in the air and called on football fans to celebrate within their districts and not to approach high-security zones. The day of the match turned out to be one of the calmest days in Iraq since the occupation. No incidents of violence were reported, and Iraqi politicians for once refrained from trading accusations. With the exception of Sunday, the violence continued with dozens of victims every day. The worst attack took place in Al-Kerada, where a car bomb exploded at the market on the previous Thursday, followed by a garbage truck laden with explosives. Shortly afterwards, a mortar shell fell on a three- storey building nearby. The attacks left 61 dead and 100 wounded. Locals posted names of the victims on mosque walls. In the funeral processions that followed, mourners pelted the occupation forces and Iraqi troops with rocks. A statement issued by the prime minister called the bombings a "reaction" to the victories Iraqi security forces scored against "terrorist strongholds across Iraq." A few months ago, about 100 civilians died in a twin bombing in predominantly Shia Al-Kerada, a district populated by top officials, embassies, and news services. Clashes between the Mahdi Army and joint US and Iraqi troops in Karbalaa, 110km southwest of Baghdad, left nine dead and 20 wounded. According to an official source, the dead include two women and the injured -- four women and six children. Violence resurged in Kirkuk, 284km north of Baghdad, where gunmen attacked the residence of an Iraqi Turkmen Front leader in Yingija, injuring him and killing his two sons. The Turkmen have no militia of their own, but are thinking of forming one. Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki asked the White House to replace General David Petraeus as commander of US troops in Iraq, complaining that Petraeus was conducting military operations without consulting the Iraqi government. President George W Bush has turned down the request. Al-Maliki seems to be fighting a rearguard battle on more than one front. His spokesman, Ali Al-Dabbagh, has criticised the Sunni Accordance Front for suspending the participation of its six ministers in the government. The Accordance Front gave Al-Maliki one week to release detainees, investigate the bombing of Imam Al-Askari in Samarra, and exonerate the culture minister of involvement in the assassination of the two sons of MP Mathal Al-Alusi. Al-Dabbagh's statements impeded the mediation efforts of Abdel-Aziz Al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Islamic Council in Iraq. Al-Hakim has been trying to resolve the disputes among Iraqi factions, which have impeded the work of both the government and parliament. Some claim that Al-Maliki was purposely trying to undermine Al-Hakim's mediation efforts. Ammar Wajih, member of the Iraqi Islamic Council, said that everyone knows that differences exist within the ranks of the Shia Alliance Front, which includes the Daawa Party, the Sadr group, and independents. Al-Fadila Party has already pulled out of the Alliance Front. Al-Dabbagh accused the Accordance Front of "twisting facts" and of "impeding the work of the government and the parliament, hampering the political process, and wagering on those who live outside the country." Wajih responded to the accusation by saying that the government was fumbling. "The government of Al-Maliki is a continuation of the government of the former prime minister, Ibrahim Al-Jaafari, for both [Al-Maliki and Al-Jaffari] are leaders of the Daawa Party." He added that the current government bears a moral responsibility for all the "violations" committed by the previous government. The Accordance Front is not the only group slamming the government. The Dialogue List of Saleh Al-Mustalek and the Iraqi Front of Iyad Allawi have voiced similar criticism. There is "mounting resentment" of the government within the Alliance Front and the Kurdistan List, Wajih added. Asked whether the Accordance Front intended to withdraw from the government, Wajih said that unless the prime minister changed his policies, the Front would have to pull out of the government. Another round of US-Iranian talks was held in Baghdad with Al-Maliki and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari attending. The outcome of the talks was not all that encouraging. US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker provided documents implicating Iran in acts of violence in Iraq, while Iran refused to allow former prime minister Iyad Allawi to take part in a future conference of all Iraqi leaders. Several Iraqi politicians expressed their dismay at Iran's objection to Allawi's participation, saying that it constituted interference in Iraqi affairs. Allawi had joined a group of Iraqi leaders who are opposed to the execution of former defence minister Hashem Sultan and former chief of staff Ahmed Rashid. In a letter to President Bush, Ghazi Khedr, a top officer who served in key army posts both before and after the occupation, called for a stay on the execution of Sultan and Rashid, who were just "carrying out orders." Khedr said that should the two officials be executed, he would hold a news conference and smash "under his Iraqi military boots" all the decorations the Coalition Forces and NATO gave him. Former army general Hassan Ahmed said that the execution of Sultan and Rashid would mean that the world should hold the US army accountable for the atrocities its commanders committed in Iraq on orders of President Bush. The execution would also create a moral dilemma for the "new Iraqi army" whose commanders have committed and are still committing certain acts in Iraqi cities on the pretext of fighting terror. Iraqi commanders, he said, are clearly implementing the orders of the prime minister. Hundreds of Iraqi officers have threatened to resign if Sultan and Rashid are executed.
