World Jul. 07, 2008 - 05:16AM JST ( 18 )

BAGHDAD —

At least 15 people were killed across Iraq on Sunday, including six in a Baghdad car bombing, a day after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said the capital had thwarted a siege by foreign-backed terrorists.

A car bomb targeting a police patrol exploded near a market in northeastern Baghdad’s Shiite al-Shaab neighborhood, killing at least six people and wounding 14, security officials said.

A woman was among the dead and the wounded included three policemen, an interior ministry security official said.

Despite the latest attack Baghdad has seen a reduction in the number of bombings in recent months amid a steady decline in violence across the country since late last year.

The capital, the epicenter of violence since 2005, has witnessed a drop in bloodshed on the back of a controversial “surge” of troops by the U.S. military over the past year.

On Saturday, Maliki said that Iraqi forces had managed to save Baghdad from a siege by terrorists backed by foreign countries.

“They (terrorists) had surrounded Baghdad from all sides, backed by the bad intentions of other countries,” Maliki said, on the eve of a visit to the United Arab Emirates.

“We wanted these nations to support and assist us in stabilizing the country but they were thinking of finishing Baghdad,” he said, without naming the countries. “But Baghdad continues to stand.”

The U.S. military claims most of the insurgent attacks in Baghdad and other regions of Iraq have been carried out by al-Qaida fighters, many of whom are foreigners entering the country from Syria.

It also accuses Iranian-linked groups of arming, funding and training Shiite groups to wage attacks against Sunni Arabs and foreign forces operating in Iraq.

The security gains have led to promises by neighboring countries to normalize ties and appoint ambassadors in Iraq.

The UAE announced on Sunday that its ambassador to India, Abdullah Ibrahim al-Shehhi, would take over as its envoy in Baghdad, and it waived a $7 billion debt.

Jordan has said its ambassador to Iraq would arrive with King Abdullah II who is set to visit Baghdad this week for a first visit by an Arab head of state since the 2003 invasion.

The Sunni-ruled Arab monarchies of the region had been reluctant to upgrade ties with Iraq, not just for security reasons but also because of its Shiite-led government’s perceived tilt toward non-Arab Shiite Iran.

But the Arab states have been encouraged by the crackdown on Shiite militias by Maliki, himself a Shiite, and motivated by a need to check Iranian-backed power plays in the region.

Meanwhile, in a separate attack on Sunday, seven people were killed by a bomb targeting a local leader of President Jalal Talabani’s political party, officials said.

The bomb exploded in the town of Qara Tappa in the restive province of Diyala outside the house of Mohammed Ramadan Eisa, a local leader of Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the town’s mayor Sherwan Shukra said.

“Eisa was seriously wounded in the blast but his wife, mother-in-law, his two children, one brother and two of his guards were killed,” the mayor said.

Two more people were killed in other attacks in Diyala, one of the most dangerous provinces in Iraq.

Wire reports