Iraqi prime minister fires security chief after Baghdad blasts

BAGHDAD - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Wednesday removed the chief military official responsible for security in the capital and prepared for a public grilling about security lapses after five car bombs killed 127 people in Baghdad a day earlier.

Early this morning, an Al-Qaida affiliate in Iraq claimed responsibility for the bombings, according to an Associated Press report.

Al-Maliki's office announced that he had replaced Lt. Gen. Abboud Qanbar, the head of the army's Baghdad Operations Command.

The bombings Tuesday damaged financial, judicial and educational institutions and also wounded hundreds.

Iraq is bracing for more violence in the lead-up to elections, now scheduled for early March.

Seven people died in Baghdad Wednesday in three incidents, including two involving bombs placed inside buses, police said.

In a nationally televised speech, Al-Maliki asked war-weary Iraqis "for more patience and steadfastness."

Interior minister to testify

Lawmakers summoned the interior minister, Jawad al-Bolani, to a special session of parliament Thursday, and Al-Maliki may attend the meeting along with top defense officials, government officials said.

"These catastrophes should not be used to ... provoke disagreements under political names or electoral propaganda because if this structure falls, it will fall over the head of everyone," Al-Maliki said.

The situation is complicated because Al-Bolani, who oversees the nation's police, also is heading a political alliance competing against Al-Maliki.

"We are witnessing now a new trend of conflict based on political disagreement," said Dr. Hazim al-Nuaimi, a political analyst in Baghdad. "The election is approaching and the people in charge of security are politicians competing on different lists. That is destroying any cooperation and coordination between them. The result is a security gap and the blood of more innocent Iraqi civilians."

Al-Maliki appointed Lt. Gen. Ahmed Hashim Ouda late Wednesday to head Baghdad's military operations, according to state television.

Ouda has been a close political ally of Al-Maliki and belongs to his Dawa Party. He fought in the Iran-Iraq war, commanding an army division, and led an Iraqi army division during the 1991 Gulf War.

The prime minister previously has not asked any of his top security advisers to step down, but he now may have little choice. Al-Maliki has been running for reelection on a platform of improved security, and a lack of response could hurt him and his party.

The United States has refrained from commenting publicly about the security lapses, instead warning of a possible rise in violence aimed at destabilizing the government ahead of the March 7 parliamentary elections.

The top American commander in Iraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno, has said he will keep the bulk of the 120,000 U.S. troops in place until after the election.