2 leaders attacked; bomb kills 2

BAGHDAD (AP) — Two Sunni leaders who took public stances against al-Qaida in Iraq were attacked Saturday, in a sign the terror network may ramp up retaliation against local chiefs who oppose it.

Meanwhile, a roadside bomb killed the governor and police chief of a southern province that has been torn by fierce fighting between Shiite factions. The country’s prime minister urged residents to not launch reprisals.

The attacks hinted at the challenges facing Iraq, from both Shiite militias and Sunni extremists, who often target not just Americans but also their own sects in vicious internal battles.

The United States has pointed to an anti-al-Qaida alliance of local Sunni leaders as a sign of turnaround, but the attacks showed the high risks local leaders face by joining.

In one, militants bombed the northern Baghdad home of a highly regarded Sunni cleric, Sheik Wathiq al-Obeidi, who had recently spoken against al-Qaida. He was seriously wounded and three relatives were killed.

Issued threat

A Sunni insurgent umbrella group threatened al-Obeidi on Tuesday, calling him a traitor and accusing him of working with the U.S.-backed alliance of Sunni tribal leaders, who are fighting al-Qaida in western Iraq.

In the second attack, a local tribal leader in Albu Khalifa, a village west of Baghdad, was gunned down by militants who broke into his home late Saturday, police said.

Sheik Fawaq Sadda’ al-Khalifawi had recently joined the anti-al-Qaida alliance in Anbar, said a police officer in the town of Karmah.

In the south, the bomb that killed the governor and police chief struck in Qadisiyah province as the two traveled back to the capital of Diwaniyah from a funeral.

The governor, Khalil Jalil Hamza, and the police chief, Maj. Gen. Khalid Hassan, were killed along with their driver and a bodyguard. Hassan had been on the job only one week, officials said.