Interim National Council Convenes Amid Violence

Iraq’s interim parliament opened its first session Wednesday amid mortar fire, kidnapping dramas and a court appearance by one of its members, former Pentagon favorite Ahmad Chalabi.

Despite such reminders of Iraq’s difficulties, members of the newly appointed National Council said they were confident they could guide the country to democratic elections in January.

They paid little mind to the nearby thudding of mortar rounds and rockets, which injured one Iraqi civilian at a checkpoint only a few hundred yards from the gathering in Baghdad’s American-held Green Zone.

“Today we witness a vital step on the way of the democratic process, and of building up our new Iraq,” said Rosh Shawais, vice president of the council, which plays a mostly advisory role to the government of interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. “It is a historic step.”

As the council met, kidnappers freed seven truck drivers from India, Kenya and Egypt, and worry grew about the fate of two French journalists held by a violent fundamentalist group. In addition, an Islamist group announced that it had kidnapped a Jordanian in Iraq and cautioned anyone against cooperating with U.S.-led forces, Al Jazeera satellite television reported.

The truck drivers, who had been held for six weeks, were freed after their employer, Kuwait & Gulf Link Transport Co., acceded to kidnappers’ demands to cease operations in Iraq, Iraqi negotiators said. A company official told reporters late Wednesday that the firm had paid a ransom but planned to continue operations in Iraq.

“We paid half a million dollars in order to release the hostages, and in the past we have paid other sums,” said the official, Saeed Dashti, apparently referring to other payments made to the kidnappers.

Insurgents have used kidnapping in their attempts to disrupt the U.S.-funded reconstruction effort. On Tuesday, a group calling itself the Ansar al Sunna Army was shown on video carrying out what it said were the executions of 12 Nepalese working in Iraq for a Jordanian company. The announcement led to civil unrest in Katmandu, the Nepalese capital, that continued Wednesday, resulting in the death of one man in a clash with police.

The seven freed drivers, who appeared relaxed as they were taken to the airport for a flight to Kuwait, had been held by a group calling itself the Holders of the Black Banners.

“We didn’t sleep from happiness,” Mohammed Ali Sanad, an Egyptian, told Al Arabiya satellite television. “Thank God, everyone helped us.”

Meanwhile, Muslim and Western leaders joined forces in an unusual display of unity to call for the release of the two French journalists, Georges Malbrunot of Le Figaro and Christian Chesnot of Radio France International.

The two men were being held by the Islamic Army in Iraq, which threatened to kill them unless France repealed a ban on Islamic head scarves and other religious apparel in its public schools. The ban is to take effect today, the start of the school year. The same group claimed responsibility for killing an Italian journalist last week.

There was confusion about the group’s deadline because of conflicting reports about whether it had been extended to Wednesday night.

Palestinian Hamas guerrillas and Pope John Paul II were among those who pleaded for the release of the journalists, who disappeared Aug. 19 en route to the city of Najaf. French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier traveled to Qatar as part of a tour of the Middle East to secure the men’s release.

Such appeals sometimes have worked. Shiite Muslim radicals holding American journalist Micah Garen released him Aug. 22 after appeals from Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr.

Meanwhile, Chalabi, a close associate of top Pentagon officials and a source of some of the information used to justify the war in Iraq, faced dangers of his own Wednesday. He survived an ambush when gunmen opened fire on his convoy. Chalabi was not injured, but two of his bodyguards were hurt.

Chalabi attended the National Council meeting despite the attack. After that, he appeared in court to defend himself against counterfeiting allegations that were the basis of an arrest warrant issued last month.

Chalabi’s aides have acknowledged that police found a small number of counterfeit bills during a raid on the headquarters of his Iraqi National Congress party. But they said the money, worth about $2, was held as part of anti-counterfeiting inquiry launched by Chalabi, who headed the former government’s Finance Committee.

Judge Zuhair Maliky, who under the country’s judicial system acts as a prosecutor, confirmed Wednesday that he heard testimony from Chalabi but said he had made no final decision on whether to recommend charges.

He said a summons remained outstanding for the appearance of the National Council member’s nephew, Salem Chalabi, on charges linked to the slaying of an Iraqi government official.

Mithal Alusi, a Chalabi spokesman, predicted that the court would drop all charges against Ahmad Chalabi.

“There was a big misunderstanding,” Alusi said. “The court has made a mistake. Everything has been cleared.”

Meanwhile, scattered violence continued around the nation Wednesday. In Mosul, mortar rounds rained down on the headquarters of the provincial government. Doctors reported one person killed and 12 injured.

Military officials also said there was another strike on the city of Fallouja against two buildings used by associates of Jordanian militant Abu Musab Zarqawi. Wire services quoted hospital sources as saying that at least 14 people died, including three children.

Bashir Jazairee, a top Sadr aide, was killed Wednesday south of Baghdad in the same area where Chalabi was attacked. Sadr representatives blamed extremist Sunni groups.

In Baghdad’s Sadr City slum, there appeared to be little movement on an attempt to broker a cease-fire with Shiite Muslim militants.