Slain Iraq cleric to be buried, cabinet begins work ( 2003-09-02 09:21) (Agencies)
The burial of a top Shi'ite Muslim cleric killed
in a car bomb attack takes place on Tuesday as a 25-member cabinet appointed by
the U.S.-backed Iraqi Governing Council is sworn in.
Iraqis cry as they sit by the coffin of
leading moderate Muslim Shi'ite cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer al-Hakim
as a eulogy is given by a preacher at the Mosque of Imam al-Hussein in
Karbala Aug 31, 2003.
[Reuters]
Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim will
be buried in the holy city of Najaf where he and more than 80 others were killed
in the deadliest attack in Iraq since Saddam Hussein was toppled by U.S.-led
forces on April 9.
An audio tape purportedly from Saddam denied he had any part in the bombing,
which sent shockwaves through Iraq's Shi'ite majority -- many of whom blamed
supporters of the former president for the attack.
The taped message, aired by Arabic television channels, called on Iraqis to
step up attacks on U.S.-led forces.
"great heroes, intensify your brave blows against the foreign aggressors from
wherever they come and whatever their nationalities," the voice said.
Shi'ites, long oppressed by Saddam, a Sunni Muslim, flocked on Monday to
shrines south of Baghdad on the second day of funeral rites for Hakim, who
advocated cooperation with the U.S.-led occupation.
Hakim, whose brother sits on the Governing Council, led one of Iraq's most
prominent Shi'ite groups, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in
Iraq.
Najaf's governor Haidar al-Mayyali has announced the arrests of up to five
suspects he said were linked to Saddam's government.
The U.S. military said FBI agents were heading to Najaf, some 100 miles south
of Baghdad, to help investigate the bombing at the city's Imam Ali mosque -- one
of the holiest sites in Shi'ite Islam.
U.S. officials blame attacks on occupying troops and other targets on
supporters of Saddam, still on the run nearly five months after he was deposed.
But they have also made increasing mention of the presence of al Qaeda and other
foreign fighters.
HOPE AND ANGER
In Beirut, the leader of Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrilla group told about 3,000
Shi'ites mourning the death of Hakim that the United States and Israel had most
to gain from the killing.
"The Americans do not want a state in Iraq, they want a splintered Iraq and
the Israelis want to crush Iraq," said Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. He stopped short
of blaming the United States or Israel for Hakim's killing.
Washington sees the Governing Council and its cabinet as the first steps
toward its goal of transforming Iraq into a peaceful democracy, but many Iraqis
have voiced anger about what they view as the occupiers' failure to provide
security.
The Governing Council named the cabinet of 25 ministers, most of them
little-known, saying they represented the will of Iraq. But overall authority
will remain with U.S. governor Paul Bremer until an elected government is
installed.
A spokesman for Iraq's U.S.-led administration said the appointment of
ministers "represents a significant new step in Iraqis taking control of
government and institutions of government."
The new ministers will oversee the day-to-day running of their departments
while major policy decisions will be taken in consultation with the U.S.-led
authority and the Governing Council. There is no prime minister.
The ministers comprise 13 Shi'ites, five Sunnis, five Kurds, one Turkmen and
one Christian -- reflecting the sectarian and ethnic mix of Iraq and the
Governing Council.
Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum, a Shi'ite, was given the key role of oil minister,
overseeing the rebuilding of a dilapidated and war-damaged industry, Iraq's only
significant source of export revenue.
Kurdish official Hoshyar Zebari was named foreign minister, former exile and
U.S. ally Nouri Badran was made interior minister and Kamel al-Keylani was
appointed finance minister.
The attack that killed Hakim has intensified international debate on
stabilizing Iraq, where bombings have hit the U.N. headquarters and Jordanian
embassy in Baghdad in recent weeks.
Sixty-five U.S. and 11 British soldiers have been killed by hostile fire
since President Bush declared major combat over on May 1.
The violence and the cost of occupation is putting pressure on Bush, who
faces a campaign to win re-election next year. Opinion polls show growing unease
about troop deaths in Iraq, but that support for the mission remains firm.
