Wave of attacks kill 16 in Iraq

BAGHDAD -- A wave of attacks in Baghdad and areas north of the capital Sunday shattered a relative lull in violence by killing 16 people and injuring 15 a day after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared that Iraq's government had defeated terrorism.

Sunday's violence erupted as the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) canceled $4 billion of Iraqi debt and moved to restore a full diplomatic mission in Baghdad.

The Abu Dhabi government announced the debt relief and the naming of a new ambassador to Baghdad shortly after al-Maliki began a visit to the wealthy Gulf nation.

The news was sure to bolster his government, which has been urging Iraq's Sunni Arab neighbors to forgive loans made during Saddam Hussein's regime and restore diplomatic relations.

The Emirates' official news agency, WAM, quoted the president, Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as saying he hoped canceling the debt would lighten the "economic burden" facing Iraqis and he urged the country to unite behind al-Maliki's government.

WAM said the debt was $4 billion excluding interest. A U.A.E. official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the total debt was $7 billion with interest.

Iraq has been appealing for relief of at least $67 billion in foreign debt -- owed mostly to Arab nations that have been reluctant to forgive Iraq's belligerence during Saddam's rule.

In addition, the U.N. Compensation Commission says $28 billion remains to be paid for Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Iraq now gives 5 percent of its oil revenue to meet the compensation claims.

In Sunday's attacks, six people were killed in a car bombing in a mainly Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad. Police said the bomb was detonated by remote control in a popular market.

In Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, a roadside bomb killed a high-ranking member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the party headed by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, along with seven other people, said Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim al-Rubaie, Diyala military operations commander.

The incident occurred in the town of Mandily, 60 miles east of Baqubah, the provincial capital.

Rubaie said two civilians were killed in Baqubah when police clashed with members of the U.S.-backed Awakening Councils, former insurgents who have turned their weapons against the extremist group al-Qaida in Iraq.

The province is still considered one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq despite several major offensives by U.S. and Iraqi forces over the past two years.