Parliamentary blocs hold urgent meeting with interior, defense, national security ministers

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Heads of the parliamentary blocs held on Friday morning an urgent closed session with the attendance of interior, defense and national security ministers as well as the parliament’s chairmanship to discuss the security condition in the country after the recent bombings in Baghdad. The parliament prevented journalists from entering the building to cover the session. The final toll from the synchronized explosions that occurred Wednesday (August 19) in Baghdad is 82 dead and 1,203 wounded. A series of bombings struck different parts of Babel province on Thursday (Aug. 20), leaving four civilians dead and 65 others wounded. The Baghdad Operations Command arrested 11 police and army officers after the Baghdad bombings that occurred on Wednesday. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said Thursday that the series of deadly blasts that struck the capital Baghdad aimed at undermining the Iraqi political process and crippling the security forces’ ability to maintain order. SH (P) 1