New Wave of Violence in Iraq Four Days Before Power Transfer

As there are only four days left until the United States is set to transfer power to the interim government of Iraq, insurgents have launched a new wave of violence across the country, entering an aggressive state. Coalition officials in Iraq report that a car bomb explosion in Hila, south of Baghdad, killed 17 Iraqis and injured 40 others. This explosion occurred on Saturday, just four days before the U.S. hands over sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government. On the same Saturday, another explosion killed five people, one of whom was an American soldier. Meanwhile, Mr. Allawi told CBS News that the violence could delay elections scheduled for the end of January. In an independent newspaper on Sunday, Mr. Allawi wrote that his government is seeking to grant immunity to Iraqis who have acted against U.S.-led coalition forces, provided they have not committed crimes. Earlier, in Baqubah, insurgents attacked the offices of a major Shiite political party and blew up the local headquarters of the interim prime minister, killing three. In the north, in the Kurdish city of Erbil, one person was killed in a bomb explosion. In the south, in the city of Najaf, militants loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr opened fire on a coalition forces convoy. An American soldier was killed after his patrol unit was attacked in central Baghdad.