Suicide blast kills Sunni Arab leader
A suicide bomber killed the deputy leader of Iraq’s second-biggest Sunni Arab political bloc Sunday as he and other politicians met to discuss the upcoming provincial elections, the party’s leader said.
Hassan Zaidan Lahaibi of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front was killed by a suicide bomber who stormed his house, shot at guards and blew himself up in a crowded reception room, said Saleh Mutlak.
Police sources said between one and four other people were also killed, including a policeman, in the attack in Qaiyara, south of Mosul.
The sectarian violence that killed tens of thousands in Iraq after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion has fallen dramatically in recent months, but suicide and car bombs remain common.
Nineveh province, which includes Mosul, has also seen tension between its large Sunni Arab population and ethnic Kurds ahead of the Jan. 31 provincial election. The Sunnis had boycotted the last election.
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