Iraqi politicians call for calm amid deteriorating divisions

Iraq’s Higher Education Minister Ali el-Adeeb Baghdad – Jaafar Al Nasrawi A group of senior Iraqi politicians have called for unity across the political spectrum, during a celebration to mark the memory of former Iraqi Supreme Council leader Mohamed Baquer el-Hakeem in Baghdad. Iraq’s Higher Education Minister Ali el-Adeeb spoke after the ceremony, calling on different parties to overthrow the last vestiges of the “dictatorial regime” led by Saddam Hussein and the Baath Party.
“There is a need not to turn democracy into chaos,” he said.
“Psychological divisions in Iraq have led to the current political divisions.”
Supreme Islamic Council chief Ammar el-Hakim also called for a “transcending of differences” to unite against insurgent “extremists” threatening the stability of the country.
Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Osama el-Nagivi accused foreign powers of working to divide Iraq.
The declarations of unity come after another day of violence in Iraq.
A suicide bomber targeted the home of a senior Iraqi intelligence officer north of Baghdad on Saturday, killing three people, while four more died in other attacks, officials said.
The bomber detonated a small tanker truck at the home of police Brigadier General Ismail al-Juburi, a senior officer for Nineveh province, killing his son, nephew and sister-in-law -- and wounding 21 others, police and a doctor said.
Suicide bombings are usually carried out by Sunni militants, including those linked to al-Qaeda. Four suicide bombers struck in various parts of northern Iraq on Wednesday, killing four people.
Violence in Iraq has fallen from its peak at the height of the sectarian conflict in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common, killing more than 200 people in each of the first four months of this year.