Iraqi Asks U.S. to Step Back From Talks
Iraq’s foreign minister cautioned U.S. officials to take a “less visible, lower profile” in talks aimed at forming a new national government, as a surge in bombings Tuesday shattered a brief lull in sectarian violence. Tuesday’s wave of bombings appeared to be a renewed insurgent offensive aimed predominantly at Shiite Muslim targets, and left at least 76 Iraqis dead and 179 wounded nationwide. The violence spread beyond the central and northern provinces and the country’s capital, where bomb explosions and mortar rounds shook the city, to the mostly peaceful Shiite south, where two British soldiers were killed. Full Story