Washington approves of Allawi as Iraq's prime minister; al-Ibraheimi welcomes Allawi; Occupation releases hundreds of detainees
Iraq, Politics, 5/29/2004

A high ranking American official in Baghdad has announced that the US confirmed that member in the Iraqi governing council Eyad Allawi will be the prime minister of the next Interim government in Iraq. The American official told journalists that this government will be formed within the two or three coming days.

The spokesman for the UN to Iraq announced that al-Akhdar al-Ibraheimi welcomed the nomination of Eyad Allawi as a prime minister for the Iraqi government. This was expressed after he was chosen by the governing council unanimously during a special session attended by the American administrator of Iraq, Paul Bremer, and held in a secret place for security reasons. The spokesman explained that Bremer congratulated Allawi over being selected by the council.

Member of the Interim governing council Mahmoud Othman announced that the council chose unanimously its member Eyad Allawi to preside over the next provisional Iraqi government.

Allawi's assistant, Hani Idris, confirmed the news and said that the UN envoy al-Akhdar al-Ibraheimi supported this selection.

One assistant for member of the Iraqi governing council Rajaa Habib al-Khuza'e said that the selection was made in a special session attended by Paul Bremer who congratulated Allawi over being chosen by the council.

On the other hand, al-Akhdar al-Ibraheimi said that he will announce names of the supervising committee on 2005 elections within the three coming days. This was expressed in the course of his talks in a seminar held by the national congress for sovereignty and democracy in Baghdad in the presence of the provisional president of the governing council Ghazi Ojeil Elyawer.

Meantime, Iraqi medical sources said that five Iraqis were killed and other 14 wounded as confrontations renewed in Najaf and Koufa between the American forces and al-Mahdi army of the Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sader.

News reports said that al-Mahdi army did not start launching of fire, rather retaliated fire they were exposed to after the deployment of the American forces prior to Friday's prayers.

The renewal of the clashes took place 24 hours after a truce between the two sides started actually on the ground after reaching an agreement to solve the crisis politically.

In a later development, the car of Sader Eddine al-Qabaqanji, the director of the office of central Euphrates in the higher council of the Islamic revolution was exposed to fire in Najaf following Friday's prayers in Imam Ali shrine.

In other field developments, one Iraqi civilian was killed and other four wounded in clashes between one American patrol and unidentified attackers in Baqouba to the north east of Baghdad.

In al-Ramadi, to the west of Baghdad, news reports said that one on foot American patrol was blown up at the cemetery of al-Khaledyeah city to the east of the city yesterday. The American forces inspected the area in search of other explosives.

In Karkouk, one Iraqi Turkman was killed and other two were injured in an attack against the headquarters of the Turkmani national party in the city, close to the main Kurdish parties.

On the other hand, the occupation forces released a new batch of Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghreib prison near Baghdad, days following the release of scores of Iraqi detainees. A spokesman for the occupation authority said that the team of the American NBC TV was released after its members were kidnapped for more than 48 hours in Falujja city to the west of Baghdad.

Previous Stories:
  An attempt to assassinate al-Khafaji; Washington refuses date for ending UN authorization; al-Najaf agreement ends confrontation   (5/28/2004)
  Number of killed Iraqis increasing, al-Sader's brother in law arrested, occupation hit Imam Ali shrine in Najaf   (5/27/2004)
  Seven killed in al-Najaf, one mosque destroyed in Karbala   (5/26/2004)

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