3 Killed in Baghdad Blast

[cal04]

Gunmen wounded an Iraqi general Thursday in southeast Baghdad and a blast killed three people in the heart of the capital as President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair prepared for a meeting on Iraq strategy now that a new government is in place.

Brig. Gen. Khalil al-Abadi, head of the Defense Ministry logistics office, was ambushed as he was driven to work in the Zafraniyah district, police said. His driver was also wounded. The blast in central Baghdad occurred in a building on Tahrir Square, killing three and wounding 11, police Lt. Ali Mitaab said. Police suspect the building housed a bomb-making factory.

Bush and Blair were to meet Thursday and Friday in Washington, with Iraq strategy at the top of the agenda. Blair, who visited Baghdad this week, also will discuss Iraqi plans for an international conference to back its government and seek Bush's support for increased U.N. support, British officials said.

Both leaders have seen their poll ratings drop sharply and are under pressure to make troop cutbacks. But U.S. and British officials dampened expectations that the meetings would produce a timetable for withdrawal. In Baghdad, the new Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, said he believes Iraqi forces are capable of taking over security around the country within 18 months, but he did not mention a timetable for U.S.-led coalition forces to leave.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5844635,00.html

[annabanana]

1. "head of the Defense Ministry logistics office"

Who is operating Iraq's Defense Ministry these days? Was he part of Al Sadr's army?