The first official boycott of March 7 elections was called when MP Mutlaq took himself and his party out of the running. The prayer day was otherwise fairly quiet with only two Iraqis having been reported killed while a third Iraqi was wounded. Also, Iraq has rejected international calls to end its death penalty.
Member of Parliament Saleh al-Mutlaq and his National Dialogue Front (NDF) party have withdrawn from upcoming elections and will boycott them. The Accountability and Justice Commission barred Mutlaq, from running over his alleged ties to the Ba’ath Party, which he quit in 1977. A second legislator, Hussein al-Falluji, described the ban as "winning a round" by Iran, which many think influenced the blacklist. While politicians campaign around the defunct Ba’ath Party, Iraqi citizens are more interested in clean streets and electricity.
Separately, U.S. Brig. Gen. Kevin Mangum warned that the period between the March 7 elections and when Iraq actually seats a new government could be more sensitive to violence if any disputes arise.
In Mosul, gunmen killed a man last night.
Gunmen in Tal Afar killed a cop.
An I.E.D. wounded a civilian in Riyadh.
In Baghdad, an al-Qaeda suspect was captured.
A U.S. bas near Kut was rocketed, but no casualties were reported.
A bomb was defused in Kirkuk.
About 600 Interior Ministry detainees in Basra are on a hunger strike over conditions at their prison.
