BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq created a military task force Sunday to battle gangland-style crime after the latest bloodshed: gunmen with silencer-fitted weapons killing at least seven people during a daylight heist of jewelry stores.
The swift government response to the robberies appeared to reflect worries by Iraqi officials about a rise in violence in recent weeks and their efforts to display a tough stance.
Although attacks remain well below levels of past years, Iraqi authorities are under pressure to show greater competence as U.S. commanders gradually hand over security duties before their planned withdrawal from most urban bases by June 30.
In parliament, meanwhile, lawmakers finally ended a long political impasse by electing a prominent Sunni member as its new speaker, opening the way for lawmakers to start dealing with critical reforms that have been on hold for nearly four months.
But the fallout from the robberies diverted the government’s attention.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered a full-scale investigation by a police-military committee.
Hours earlier, he reminded Iraqis that it is impossible to wipe out lawlessness and extremist violence with “one blow.”
“There are channels and cells that will stay … so security is not finished by one military strike,” he said in a speech in central Baghdad.
The Iraqi military said a “criminal gang using weapons equipped with silencers” was behind the slayings in the Shiite-dominated al-Tobji neighborhood of northern Baghdad.
The robbers escaped in waiting cars with jewelry and cash, witnesses said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of fears of militant reprisals.
Though extremist attacks have declined dramatically in Iraq, the number of robberies and attacks on jewelry stores, currency exchanges and pawn shops appears to be increasing.
A day earlier, gunmen used similar tactics during the robbery of a currency exchange in the southern city of Basra. At least two people were killed.
Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, an Iraqi military spokesman, said the gunmen in the Baghdad robberies used three cars in the heist. The robbers made off with an unknown amount of money and jewelry, he said.
Al-Maliki’s office said a military committee will investigate the incident and track down those involved, and it urged citizens to come forward if they have information.
Officials at Yarmouk Hospital said five other people were wounded in the robberies.
Elsewhere Sunday, gunmen shooting from speeding cars killed two U.S.-allied Sunni paramilitaries in separate incidents in Musayyib, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) south of Baghdad. The shootings took place as the paramilitaries were heading to a mosque, the Babil provincial police said.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s parliament selected Ayad al-Samarraie as speaker, clearing the way for lawmakers to deal with laws to regulate the country’s oil and gas riches and to address possible constitutional changes on central government powers.
But the parliament only has a limited time to work, as Iraqi national elections are planned for later this year, possibly December.
Al-Samarraie, a member of the parliament’s finance committee, received 153 votes _ far ahead of the runner-up candidate, who had just 36 votes. He will succeed Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, who resigned Dec. 23 amid widespread complaints about his erratic behavior.
Under Iraq’s political system, the speaker post goes to a Sunni Arab. But the main Sunni bloc could not agree on a candidate until al-Samarraie emerged as a compromise figure.
Al-Samarraie, who is a dual Iraqi-British citizen, lived in Britain for decades during Saddam Hussein’s rule and was one of the Iraqi exiles in contact with Washington before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
“We will do our best to reform parliament and enable it to play a more active role,” he said shortly after being elected.
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