4 US soldiers killed in Iraq bombing
Foreign Desk Report

BAGHDAD (Iraq)—Four U.S. Army soldiers died in a roadside bombing, gunmen killed a Sunni Arab candidate for parliament, and militants tried to blow up a leading Shiite politician in separate attacks Tuesday, the last day of campaigning for Iraq’s election.
More than 1,000 Sunni clerics, meanwhile, issued a religious edict, or a fatwa, urging Sunni Arabs to vote in Thursday’s balloting — offering a seal of approval as members of the disaffected minority are expected to turn out in large numbers after mostly boycotting the landmark Jan. 30 polls. The bombing northwest of Baghdad killed four Americans soldiers assigned to Task Force Baghdad which handles security in the capital and the surrounding area. The deaths bring to at least 2,149 the number of U.S. service members to have died since the start of the war in 2003. Insurgents killed a Sunni Arab candidate for parliament and tried to blow up a leading Shiite politician in separate attacks Tuesday, the last day of campaigning for Iraq’s election. Ali al-Lami, executive director of the Iraqi Electoral Commission, appealed for peace on Thursday, when about 15 million people will be called on to vote in more than 6,200 polling stations. Insurgents have denounced the election as a “satanic project” but have not threatened to attack polling stations. Early voting was held Monday for Iraqi security forces, hospital patients and prisoners, and proceeded without problems, al-Lami said. Balloting for Iraqis who live abroad opened Tuesday, and began in Australia, where there are up to 20,000 registered Iraqi voters live.