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12 Killed In Crash Of Copter In N. Iraq
U.S. helicopters fly near the American military base in Mosul, in northern Iraq. Nearby Tall Afar has been a major focus of U.S. military operations.
(By Namir Noor-eldeen -- Reuters)
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It was unclear whether Talabani would accept the nomination; he has lobbied to be given more authority. The presidency is a largely ceremonial office.
"The acceptance or the rejection of the president to this post is up to him personally," Kamran Qaradaghi, Talabani's spokesman, said in a statement. "President Talabani has stressed many times that he must get more powers to accept this post."
Sunni Arab and Shiite parties greeted the nomination coolly. Bahaa Araji, a member of the United Iraqi Alliance, a group of Shiite parties, said his group respected the decision but would prefer to have a Sunni Arab in the job.
Also in Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi troops launched a predawn raid Sunday on the Um al-Qura mosque, which serves as the headquarters of the Association of Muslim Scholars, a leading Sunni religious group. A U.S. military spokesman quoted by Reuters said the raid was undertaken to investigate "substantial terrorist-related activity."
The association said the raid was a violation of a holy place. Muthana Harith Dhari, a member of the association, said at a news conference Sunday morning that U.S. troops had detained five people and ransacked the mosque's library and computer stations looking for information.
"We call it a battle, to describe the kind of attack against the mosque and the headquarters of the association," Dhari said.
While the association has regularly inveighed against the U.S. presence in Iraq, it has also often issued statements condemning suicide bombings, assassinations and kidnappings carried out by insurgents across the country.
Also in Baghdad, a French engineer taken hostage last month was released. In a statement, the French government said Bernard Planche would return to France soon. A government spokesman said French President Jacques Chirac was "delighted by the happy outcome."
Planche, who worked for a nongovernmental organization, was kidnapped Dec. 5 while traveling to work at a water plant in Baghdad. Video footage released later showed him sitting between two armed men, who denounced the "illegal French presence" in Iraq and demanded the withdrawal of French troops from the country.
The French government, which opposed the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein, has not sent forces to Iraq.
Staff writer Josh White in Washington and correspondent John Ward Anderson in Paris contributed to this report.
