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Baghdad (AFP) April 18, 2011 Two suicide car bombings killed five people and wounded 15 on Monday at the entrance to Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, where an Arab League summit is due to be held next month. Officials said the bombings occurred at around 8:30 am (0530 GMT) at the western gate into the Green Zone, which houses the offices of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's parliament and the US and British embassies. A queue of cars was waiting to enter the Green Zone when the vehicles exploded, a security official said. The blasts came after a weekend visit by a top US politician, who praised Iraq for being a "different country" compared to years past. "Two suicide car bombs exploded at the western gate of the Green Zone," said Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim Atta, who blamed Al-Qaeda for the attack and put the toll at five dead and 15 wounded. "The bombings happened when there were several employees and officials entering the Green Zone," he added. "The attack was trying to give the impression that the terrorists can target the Green Zone. There are clear Al-Qaeda fingerprints on these attacks." A doctor at Al-Yarmuk hospital said they had received 13 wounded, nine of whom were members of Iraq's security forces. The attacks come less than a month before an Arab League summit is due to take place in Baghdad on May 11, and the newly renovated Republican Palace where the talks are to take place sits inside the Green Zone. The summit had originally been scheduled for March 29, and Arab League chief Amr Mussa said that the group should consider postponing it further while Gulf Arab states have already demanded that it be cancelled. Iraq has not hosted a regular Arab summit since 1978, although an extraordinary summit was held in Baghdad in 1990. The site of the attack, known as Entry Control Point 12, is the main entrance to the central Baghdad area for cars travelling from the capital's airport. Anyone wanting to enter the Green Zone needs a badge issued either by the Iraqi security forces or the US military, with the badge's colour indicating whether their vehicle needs to be searched before being allowed to proceed. US military spokeswoman Staff Sergeant Kelli Lane would only confirm "an incident this morning near the International Zone," but gave no details. The US military maintains a contingent of soldiers inside the Green Zone. Parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, a political rival of Maliki, said the attack was because of the premier's failure to appoint ministers of interior, defence or national security, more than a year after parliamentary polls. "There are major security violations taking place, and the government must work to prevent this and fight terrorist groups," he told a news conference. "Not nominating security ministers is the reason behind this attack." Maliki is the acting minister of the interior, defence and national security. A separate attack involving two roadside bombs in the upscale residential neighbourhood of Jadriyah in east Baghdad wounded five more people, three of them security force members, an interior ministry official said. Gunmen also targeted jewellery shops in the Ameen district, also in the east, killing the owners of two stores, a security official said. Police arrived as the attackers were in mid-heist, and one of the three gunmen was killed while the others got away, the official added. Violence in Iraq has declined dramatically from its peak in 2006 and 2007 but attacks remain common, especially in Baghdad. A total of 247 Iraqis died as a result of attacks in March, according to official data. US House Speaker John Boehner hailed Iraq's march to self-governance in a statement released by his office on Sunday, saying: "Just four years ago, a terrorist insurgency was killing innocent civilians and wreaking havoc across the country." "Today Iraq is a different country" as the last remaining US forces prepared to depart by year's end, said Boehner, who visited Iraq over the weekend as part of a six-member congressional delegation.
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