7 killed in suicide bomber attack after Iraqi voteJune 21, 2013 - 11:21 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A suicide bomber killed seven people at an Iraqi vote counting center on Thursday, June 20 evening, police said, hours after polls closed in two Sunni Muslim-dominated provinces, according to Reuters. Most Iraqis voted for provincial councils in April but the Shi'ite-led government postponed elections in Anbar and Nineveh, citing security concerns after months of protests by the country's Sunni minority. The decision to delay voting in those governorates was criticized by the United States, which said it would compound a sense of Sunni marginalization that has fuelled a wave of violent unrest. More than 1,000 people were killed in militant attacks in Iraq in May, making it the deadliest month since the height of sectarian bloodletting in 2006-07. The suicide bomber blew himself up at a vote-counting center in the city of Ramadi in Anbar province, killing seven people, four of whom were members of Iraq's electoral commission. Earlier on Thursday, a roadside bomb hit a bus carrying five electoral officials in the town of Baiji in Nineveh, killing one, police said. In the provincial capital Mosul, a mortar round was fired at a checkpoint near a voting center, wounding two soldiers. On Wednesday, a suicide bomber embraced and killed a Sunni political leader, also in Nineveh. Separately, the bodies of three men kidnapped on Wednesday were found handcuffed with bullets to the head and chest in the town of Sharqat, 260 km (160 miles) northwest of Baghdad. Two of the men were farmers and the third a policeman. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia provides info about arrested Armenian ex-MP Russian law enforcement agencies have provided information about the arrest of Tigran Urikhanyan. Lemkin Institue slams Pashinyan's “cryptic engagement with Genocide denial” The Lemkin Institute is alarmed over Pashinyan’s statements “questioning Armenia's legal basis to pursue justice against Turkey”. 41 detained as antigovernment protests continue in Yerevan 41 people were detained in Yerevan as people demanding Pashinian’s resignation stage campaigns of civil disobedience. Armenia votes for UN resolution granting Palestine new rights The U.N. General Assembly voted by a wide margin on May 10 to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine. |