3 candidates killed in broad daylight

BAGHDAD — A suicide bomber struck the Baghdad headquarters of Iraq’s biggest Shi’ite political party yesterday, killing three persons , as the government announced plans to close borders and restrict movements to bolster security inthe national election.

Terrorists also killed three candidates in broad daylight, officials said yesterday.

The Cabinet member responsible for internal security urged fellow Sunni Arabs to disregard threats by Sunni extremists and vote in the Jan. 30 election, in which Iraqis will choose a 275-member National Assembly and regional legislatures.

Otherwise, the minister warned, the country will slide into a civil war.

In a positive development, a Catholic archbishop kidnapped in northern Iraq was released yesterday without payment of ransom, the Vatican said. Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa, an Iraqi, said he thinks he was kidnapped by mistake.

An American soldier was killed yesterday in a roadside bombing in Baghdad, and more foreigners were reported kidnapped, including Lebanese businessman Jebrail Adeeb Azar and eight Chinese construction workers.

The Chinese were shown being held hostage by gunmen claiming the captives worked for a company that deals with Americans.

China’s official Xinhua news agency said diplomats were “making all efforts to rescue” the hostages, who disappeared last week while traveling to Jordan.

The suicide driver detonated his vehicle after security guards stopped it at a checkpoint in front of offices of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, one of the major groups contesting the election.

The Shi’ite party, known as SCIRI, has close ties to Iran and is strongly opposed by Sunni Muslim militants.

Iraqi police said the bomber and two others died and nine persons were wounded, including three policemen. The blast gouged a crater in the pavement, left several vehicles in flames, and spread shredded debris on the street in the Jadriyah district.

“SCIRI will not be frightened by such an act,” party spokesman Ridha Jawad said.

“SCIRI will continue the march toward building Iraq, establishing justice and holding the elections.”

Sunni Muslim militants, who make up the bulk of Iraq’s insurgents, have stepped up attacks on Shi’ites to frighten them into staying home on election day.

Although many Sunni clerics and others oppose the election, Shi’ite leaders have told their followers that voting is their religious duty.

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