Another bloody day in Iraq claims five

Fifty-seven people were wounded in a short string of quick attacks on Friday.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Two bombs struck in quick succession at a pet market Friday in Baghdad, killing at least five people and wounding 57, while the leader of al-Qaida urged Sunnis to confront Shiites and ignore calls for national reconciliation.
The explosives were left in bags at the entrance and the center of the al-Ghazil market, where Iraqis can go every Friday to buy dogs, birds, snakes and other animals, Lt. Ahmed Muhammad Ali said.
About 10 minutes later, an explosion near a Shiite mosque in the eastern Baghdad neighborhood of Jadida killed two civilians and injured five, Lt. Ali Abbas said.
In the southern city of Basra, Sheik Ismat Youniss was gunned down as he was walking to his Shiite mosque for Friday prayers, Capt. Mushtaq Kadhim said.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared a state of emergency Wednesday in the oil-rich city, but attacks persisted as the sectarian and militia violence engulfing the country's capital spread to its southern economic heartland.
Gunmen also killed an Egyptian ice cream vendor in his shop in Amarah, 180 miles southeast of Baghdad.
Motivation
An audiotape purportedly from al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi sought to rally the Sunni Arab minority, alleging Shiite militias are killing and raping Sunnis.
In the four-hour tape, posted on a Web site often used by his group also denounced top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani as an "atheist," and saying the community had collaborated with invaders throughout Iraq's history.
"Oh Sunni people, wake up, pay attention and prepare to confront the poisons of the Shiite snakes who are afflicting you with all agonies since the invasion of Iraq until our day. Forget about those advocating the end of sectarianism and calling for national unity," al-Zarqawi said.
The authenticity of the audiotape could not be independently confirmed.
U.S. and Iraqi officials have frequently accused al-Zarqawi of seeking to spark a civil war between Sunnis and Shiites, and many of his group's suicide bombings have targeted Shiite civilians and mosques. Al-Zarqawi follows a radical Salafi version of Islam that vilifies Shiism.
"Anyone calling for reconciliation between Sunnis and Shiites is either a man who knows the truth but is betraying his religion and his nation ... or a man who is ignorant and should be taught," al-Zarqawi said on the tape.
In a move considered key to quelling the rampant violence in the country, al-Maliki said he will fill vacancies at the crucial Defense and Interior ministries on Sunday, despite failing to reach an agreement on candidates with Iraq's fractious ethnic and sectarian parties.
The appointments, which must be approved by parliament, are the keystone of al-Maliki's plan to take control of security around Iraq from U.S.-led forces in the next 18 months.
Al-Maliki apparently decided to go ahead with the appointment of ministers for defense, interior and the lesser post of national security to end two weeks of uncertainty and protracted negotiations with Sunni Arabs and Kurds. The two key posts were temporarily being held by al-Maliki and one of his deputy prime ministers since the Cabinet was sworn in May 20.
Al-Maliki said disagreements among the political blocs proved insurmountable so he decided to "present the names that we believe in to parliament to let it ... decide the issue, because total agreement by all the blocs is almost impossible."
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