Bomb blasts kill 29 in Iraq

A string of car bombs killed at least 29 people in Iraq yesterday, ramming home to the new government in Baghdad that insurgents are as strong as ever.

Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq appeared to make the same point in an audio tape, purportedly made by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi last month, in which the Jordanian vowed more suicide attacks.

The onslaught of bombings included nine in Baghdad and the nearby town of Madaen, one in Baquba, a town just north of the capital, and another in the northern Kurdish city of Arbil.

A 12th blast struck near a US military camp north of Baghdad, the US army said, killing a soldier, wounding two and raising to 1,200 the number of US troops killed in Iraq.

At least 29 people were killed and more than 90 were wounded, according to Iraqi police and health officials.

The attacks came a day after Iraq formed its first democratically elected government since Saddam Hussein's fall, and followed a warning this week by America's top general that the insurgency was as strong now as it was a year ago. Police said three bombs exploded in Madaen. Zarqawi's group, which US officials say wants to sow sectarian conflict, claimed responsibility for the Madaen attacks in an Internet posting, saying it detonated four, not three, bombs.

On the audio tape, the person purporting to be Zarqawi warned allies against negotiating with US forces, referring to reports that US and Iraqi officials had offered to negotiate with some militants. The tape could not be verified.

"The enemy America is today in an unenviable position due to your successful and concentrated strikes which have forced it to try hard to open dialogue with the mujahideen (holy warriors)," he said. "But be warned this is Lucifer's ruse."

His remarks drew attention to possible divisions in the mostly Sunni Muslim insurgency, notably between secular nationalists from Saddam Hussein's ousted Baath party and foreign Islamists like Zarqawi, a Jordanian.

The tape from Zarqawi, who has a $25 million bounty on his head, making him the most hunted man in Iraq, also warned US President George W. Bush that his troops would face more danger.

"We promise God that the dog... Bush will not enjoy peace of mind and that his army will not have a good life as long as our hearts are beating," the speaker said. "We are coming."

Iraqis who endured three decades of Saddam's strong-arm rule want new leaders to deliver quickly on promises of stability. The 275-seat Parliament overwhelmingly approved a Cabinet proposed by Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a devout Shi'ite Muslim, ending a power vacuum that had served to dissipate much of the optimism created by the January 30 election.

But Mr Jaafari failed to name permanent ministers to five key portfolios, including oil and defence, and a top Sunni official criticised the new government as sectarian.

Iraq's new leaders said the government reflected its ethnic and sectarian diversity, a theme politicians frequently stress in a country where Shi'ites and Kurds are the new powers and Sunnis, who dominated under Saddam, have been sidelined.

In Washington, the State Department issued a US-Italian statement saying the two countries disagreed on the conclusions of a joint investigation into the killing of an Italian agent shot dead by US soldiers in Iraq.

US troops killed Nicola Calipari on March 4 when they opened fire on a car heading for Baghdad airport in which he was escorting Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, who had just been released by kidnappers.

The friendly fire incident has caused tension between Washington and Italy, one of its staunchest allies in Iraq.

A posting on an Islamist website stirred speculation over the fate of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and prompted a flurry of denials yesterday that the world's most wanted man was dead.

The entry on www.islam-minbar.net website began by saying there was news bin Laden had died but went on to say he was alive but, as a human being, could die any time and that Muslims should be prepared for that when it happens. The unidentified author seemed to be trying to draw readers to his posting with a headline that bin Laden was dead.

London-based Islamist activist Yasser al-Serri, who monitors websites, said bin Laden "is alive" and was believed to have recently recorded a new videotape which may be on its way for broadcasting.