Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
exclusively produces is in the public domain.

Suicide Car Bombing Rocks Iraqi Shi'ite Party Office in Baghdad
---------------------------------------------------------------

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=B070CE:2AB91D3

Officials with the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq
(SCIRI) say at least one person was killed and several others wounded
A suicide car bomb explosion rocked the Baghdad office of a leading
Iraqi Shi'ite political party Tuesday.

Officials with the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq
(SCIRI) say at least one person was killed and several others wounded.

The party, led by Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, is a grouping of more than 200
Shi'ite hopefuls running in the January 30 election for Iraq's interim
National Assembly.

A car bomb blast at the party's Baghdad headquarters last month killed
13 people.

Monday, gunmen kidnapped Basile Georges Casmoussa, the archbishop of
the Syrian Catholic Church in Mosul. Insurgents also hit Iraqi
security forces in a series of attacks that killed at least 20 people.

Iraq government also announed plans to close its borders and ban all
non-official vehicles from the roads to enhance security during the
January 30 election for an interim National Assembly.

A statement Tuesday from Iraq's election commission said borders will
be closed for three days starting January 29 and that only vehicles
with official permission would be allowed on the country's roads
during that period.

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.


.