Iraqi police say bomb at wedding celebration kills 2 and injures 18 outside groom’s house

Iraq bomb kills 2 at wedding party

BAGHDAD — A bomb planted on a well-wisher’s car at a wedding celebration in Iraq on Wednesday killed two people and injured 18 others outside the house of the groom, a police lieutenant, authorities said.

The attack happened at around 5 p.m. in Musayyib, 40 miles (60 kilometers) south of Baghdad, as guests gathered at the groom’s gate before heading to the bride’s house in line with tradition, a police officer and a hospital medic said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Even though insurgents attack regularly, Iraq is far more secure than in the past years of war. U.S. combat forces pulled back from cities to bases outside urban centers at the end of June, signaling confidence in the ability of Iraqi forces to keep order.

Militants have been driven out of many of their strongholds, although the northern city of Mosul remains a trouble spot. One civilian, one soldier and two suspected insurgents died in shootings and explosions there on Wednesday, a police officer said on condition of anonymity.

West of Baghdad, a house collapsed in an explosion in the former insurgent hub of Fallujah on Wednesday, and there were believed to be fatalities, police said. Authorities did not immediately know the cause of the blast.

Tension between Kurds and Arabs, particularly around the northern, oil-rich area of Kirkuk, is seen as a major threat to Iraqi stability. On Wednesday, Iraqi officials said the Kurdish-run north of the country could not vote this month on a draft constitution, a document perceived by Iraqi Arabs as an effort to expand Kurdish authority at the expense of the central government.

The election commission chairman, Faraj al-Haidari, said Kurds can’t hold a referendum on a proposed constitution on the same day as elections for a regional parliament on July 25.

“The commission now has little time to prepare for the referendum, and we also have shortages and problems with vote papers and printing material,” al-Haidari said.

The draft constitution would expand the boundaries of the Kurdish-run region to include Kirkuk.

The Kurdish parliament planned to discuss the issue Thursday in the regional capital, Irbil.

Associated Press writer Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report.