Iraq election report issued; 2 bombs kill 19 in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Politics and violence moved in tandem in Iraq's capital Thursday, as international observers announced the results of an investigation into the country's elections last month and a pair of bombs exploded nearly simultaneously on a crowded street, killing at least 19 people.

The attack along Saadoun Street, one of Baghdad's main thoroughfares, began when a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt walked into the packed Anwar al-Saadoun coffee shop and detonated his bomb. Moments later, a bomb planted beneath a parked car in front of the nearby Mathak restaurant exploded, apparently targeting a passing police convoy.

Lt. Ahmed Ani, a spokesman for Iraq's Interior Ministry, said in an interview that the two attacks killed at least 19 people and wounded 25.

The attacks occurred as Iraq nears its reckoning with parliamentary elections held on Dec. 15 which have been criticized by Sunni Arab and secular Shiite parties that say they were tainted by fraud.

An international committee appointed to examine the elections concluded in a final report that "fraud and other violations did take place," but it did not render any conclusive judgment on whether or not the elections had been fair.

The committee's report differed with the decision to throw out results from 227 polling stations in Iraq — somewhat less than 1 percent of the total vote — saying that the "regrettable" move threw out legal votes along with illegal ones. But the committee praised the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq for being able to hold an election at all, given Iraq's security situation.

"In a country where at the moment few, if any, governmental institutions can operate with consistent efficiency and effectiveness in all areas of the country, the IECI succeeded in giving the vast majority of Iraqis an opportunity to vote," the international commission concluded in its final report. "That, in itself, is an accomplishment."

Both the Iraqi and the international commission's findings were not expected to significantly change the final results of the election, which are slated to be announced by the end of the month. U.S. officials and Iraqi politicians have said they expect release of the results to kick-start negotiations among Iraq's three main ethnic and sectarian groups — Shiites, Sunni Arabs and Kurds — as the factions attempt to assemble a government.

On a visit to Baghdad on Thursday, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., called the Iraqi election "very successful" despite the reports of fraud and said the next year would be crucial to the future of the country.

"This will not be resolved by our military," Kerry said. "This will be resolved by the Iraqi political process. This is crunch time for everything we've invested."

Kerry said success in Iraq could allow the return of "significant numbers" of American troops and said Jalal Talabani, Iraq's president, had told him that "tens of thousands" of the roughly 120,000 U.S. troops now in the country could go home by the end of the year.

Lt. Gen. John Vines, the departing chief of the U.S.-led coalition's combat troops, expressed similar optimism in a ceremony Thursday that passed command of Multi-National Corps-Iraq to Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli.

Other developments

Bird flu discounted: The World Health Organization said Thursday the bird-flu virus was not responsible for the death of a 15-year-old girl in Iraq, although officials in the region said test results were not finalized. The girl died Tuesday in a Kurdish area of northern Iraq near the border with Turkey and Iran after contracting a severe lung infection. Her hometown of Raniya is just north of a reservoir that is a stopover for migratory birds from Turkey, the site of a recent bird-flu outbreak.

Italy pullout: Italy will withdraw all its troops from Iraq by the end of this year, the defense minister said Thursday in the first official timetable for Rome to end its mission. Italy has 2,600 troops based in southern Iraq. The country's military mission will be phased out gradually over the year and a civilian force will replace it, Defense Minister Antonio Martino said.

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.