BAGHDAD — Iraq's foreign minister cautioned U.S. officials to take a "less visible, lower profile" in talks aimed at forming a new national government, as a surge in bombings Tuesday shattered a brief lull in sectarian violence.
Tuesday's wave of bombings appeared to be a renewed insurgent offensive aimed predominantly at Shiite Muslim targets, and left at least 76 Iraqis dead and 179 wounded nationwide.
The violence spread beyond the central and northern provinces and the country's capital, where bomb explosions and mortar rounds shook the city, to the mostly peaceful Shiite south, where two British soldiers were killed.
The U.S. military also reported that an American soldier was killed by small-arms fire in western Baghdad on Monday, bringing the total number of U.S. military personnel killed in Iraq to 2,292, according to a count compiled by Associated Press.
U.S. and Iraqi officials hope the formation of a new government drawn from all of Iraq's religious and ethnic groups can help stanch the violence.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has been actively pressuring Shiite, Sunni Muslim and Kurdish factions to cooperate.
But Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd and longtime ally of the U.S., suggested Khalilzad should refrain from making recommendations on Cabinet positions, such as his ongoing criticism of Interior Minister Bayan Jabr, who is viewed by many as too close to Shiite militias allegedly involved in human rights violations.
"Because there is this tension and because any statement by [Americans] will be interpreted by one group or the other, it will backfire," Zebari said in an interview with The Times. "Such a statement will be read by the Shia that the American ambassador [is] siding with the Sunnis."
Zebari and his political patron, Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, were strong supporters of the U.S.-led effort to topple former President Saddam Hussein. Zebari has played several key roles since the invasion, including as a mediator between Sunnis and Shiites.
But while he compared Khalilzad favorably with L. Paul Bremer III and John D. Negroponte, the two previous U.S. envoys to Iraq, he urged "quieter, less visible diplomacy" on the part of Americans.
"America has a tremendous amount of influence to be used," he said. "But for the details of the government formation, I think it's better not to interfere."
A U.S. Embassy spokesperson declined to comment on Zebari's remarks.
