washingtonpost.com  > World > Middle East > The Gulf > Iraq
Page 2 of 2  < Back  

Leader Urges Unity After Iraq Vote

British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said nine Royal Air Force personnel and one soldier were "missing, believed killed" in the crash, the deadliest incident of the war for Britain. British officials said they were aware of the video, but declined to say whether the aircraft was shot down.

The U.S. military said three Marines were killed Monday in Babil province, south of Baghdad. Two Marines were killed Sunday in Anbar, a sprawling province that stretches west to the Syrian border and includes the restive towns of Ramadi and Fallujah.


Army Spec. Luke Saunders of the 443rd Civil Affairs Battalion dances with Iraqi policemen as they celebrate the arrival of a convoy carrying ballots to a collection point in Baghdad. U.S. and Iraqi forces escorted officials, ballots and tally sheets to many such sites. (John Moore -- AP)

_____More on Elections_____
Photo Gallery: The end of Iraq's Election Day brought indications of strong turnout, but also reports of at least 30 people killed.
Transcript: Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post foreign correspondent Anthony Shadid will discuss the elections and the latest news from Iraq.
Transcript: The Post's Jackie Spinner discussed the scene in Irbil, where elation at electing a new Kurdish parliament has Kurds partying in the streets.
Graphic: Voting Sites Attacked
Primer: What's Next For Iraq?
___ Postwar Iraq ___

_____ Request for Photos_____

Duty In Iraq
We want to give you the opportunity to show firsthand what it is like to live and work in Iraq.


_____ Latest News _____
spacer
More Coverage
spacer
_____ U.S. Military Deaths _____

Faces of the Fallen
Portraits of U.S. service members who have died in Iraq since the beginning of the war.


_____Message Boards_____
Post Your Comments

U.S. officials have predicted that insurgents will try to intensify their attacks in coming days to prove they were undaunted by the success of Sunday's elections. In a statement posted Monday on a Web site used by insurgents, a group led by Jordanian extremist Abu Musab Zarqawi and blamed for many of Iraq's bloodiest episodes over the past two years denounced the vote as an American game and vowed "to continue the jihad until the banner of Islam flutters over Iraq."

For U.S. and Iraqi officials, bringing alienated Sunnis into the government may offer the best strategy to stanch that insurgency and ease fears among even mainstream Sunnis over the success of the United Iraqi Alliance, a largely Shiite coalition backed by the Shiite religious leadership.

Sensing victory, the alliance has attempted to reach out to Sunni leaders in past weeks, but many Sunnis, in sentiments often expressed bluntly, said they feared the alliance would relegate them to second-class status and serve as a cover for the interests of the Islamic government in predominantly Shiite Iran.

President Bush spoke with both Allawi and interim President Ghazi Yawar by telephone Monday about prospects for reconciliation in Iraq.

"The president and both leaders agreed on the need to make sure that the political process is inclusive of all Iraqis, whether or not they voted yesterday," said Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary.

The process of inclusion will play out in jockeying that may last weeks to name a new government. The parliament will appoint a president and two deputy presidents, who in turn will name a prime minister and cabinet. The parliament's main task will be to write a constitution, which is scheduled to go before voters in October.

Correspondent Karl Vick contributed to this report.


< Back  1 2

© 2005 The Washington Post Company