Three members of the Iraqi Islamic Party, Iraq's largest Sunni Arab political group, were seized in a Mosul neighborhood where they were promoting voter registration for the Oct. 15 referendum on the new constitution, said party official Nouredine al-Hayali.
They were driven to another neighborhood, shoved against a wall near the Dhi al-Nourein mosque, and shot dead while more masked gunmen blocked a major street, witnesses said. The gunmen then fled in three cars, leaving the bodies.
It was the second armed attack in as many days against Sunni Arabs participating in the political process despite threats from insurgents and Al Qaeda's wing in Iraq.
On Thursday, masked gunmen burst into the Sunni grand mosque in Ramadi, 135 miles south of Mosul, as religious, political, and tribal leaders were discussing the constitutional process. The gunmen demanded the meeting end and then opened fire, said Omar Seri, secretary of the governor of Anbar province. Three members of the Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars and a bodyguard were injured, Seri said.
Many Sunni Arabs are considering taking part in the constitutional referendum after having boycotted the Jan. 30 national election ballot -- a move that left the once-dominant community with few seats in a Parliament dominated by Shi'ites and Kurds.
In recent weeks, various Sunni groups have been urging fellow Sunnis to vote in the referendum and a general election planned for December. The voter-registration deadline is Sept. 1. US officials maintain that the key to defeating the Sunni-dominated insurgency is to encourage an inclusive political process that would encourage disaffected Sunni Arabs to lay down arms.
The entire process seems to hinge on the success of the drafting committee in producing a constitution acceptable to all Iraqi communities by Monday's deadline. If Parliament approves the draft, it goes to voters for ratification in October.
However, negotiations have bogged down over such issues as federalism, distribution of Iraq's oil wealth, the role of Islam, and Kurdish demands for the right to secede. Talks continued yesterday in the heavily guarded Green Zone but with no indication of a breakthrough.
