Iraq Watch: October 5, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's National Assembly voted on Wednesday to reverse the controversial changes it had recently made to the rules for next week's national referendum.

On a vote of 119 to 28 (only a little more than half of the 275 member legislative body participated) the Iraqi Parliament agreed to go back to the original format which states that the draft constitution can be rejected by a simple two-thirds "no" vote in any three of Iraq's 18 provinces.

On Sunday, Iraqi parliament tweeked the original rules stating that two-thirds of registered voters must cast a "no" vote in three of the provinces for the draft constitution to be officialy rejected. This change caused an uproar from Iraq's minority Sunnis who largely oppose the constitution. On Tuesday, Sunni officials publicy threatened to boycott the political voting process altogether.

Late Wednesday, south of Baghdad, a bomb exploded near the entrance of the Shiite Husseiniyat Ibn al-Nama mosque as worshipers were gathering for evening prayers on the first day of Ramadan. At least 25 Iraqis were killed and 87 injured in the explosion, which also destroyed a large part of the mosque, in Hillah, 60 miles south of the capital.

Elsewhere Wednesday, U.S. and Iraqi forces continued their counter-insurgency sweep of small predominately Sunni towns located along the Euphrates River in the vast al-Anbar province as part of operation's 'Iron Fist' and 'River Gate'.

The San Francisco Chroncile's Anna Badkhen is embedded with the U.S. marines of Lima Company participating in operatin Iron Fist near the Syrian border and provide's a good recap of recent events.