Suicide Bomb Kills Head of Iraq Governing Council

The head of the Iraqi Governing Council was killed Monday in a [suicide] car bombing near a U.S. checkpoint in central Baghdad, Iraqi officials said. The killing was the second of a member of the U.S.-appointed council since last year and dealt a blow to U.S. efforts to stabilize Iraq ahead of a handover of sovereignty on June 30.

As the current council president, a monthly rotating position, he was the highest-ranking Iraqi official killed during the U.S.-run occupation. His death occurred about six weeks before the United States plans to transfer power to Iraqis on June 30 and underscores the risks facing those perceived as owing their positions to the Americans.

Saleem, the name he went by most frequently, was a Shiite and leader of the Islamic Dawa Movement in the southern city of Basra. He was a writer, philosopher and political activist, who served as editor of several newspapers and magazines.

Six Iraqis and two U.S. soldiers were injured in the bombing near the coalition headquarters, which is called the Green Zone.