Attack on Shiite Mosque in Baghdad Leaves 78 Dead

Jun 20, 07:29 AM

Current Headlines: By STEVEN R. HURST

By Steven R. Hurst

The Associated Press

BAGHDAD

A truck bomber attacked a revered Shiite shrine in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least 78 people and wounding more than 200 in a resumption of Iraq's sectarian fighting . The mosque's turquoise dome survived, but the blast buried some worshippers and badly burned others.

Northeast of the capital, a force of 10,000 U.S. soldiers firing artillery and using heavily armored Stryker and Bradley Fighting Vehicles fought their way through western Baqouba and other al- Qaida sanctuaries in Diyala province. U.S. helicopters and jet fighters flew cover.

In all, 142 people were killed or found dead in sectarian violence Tuesday, a toll reflecting carnage associated with the months before the U.S. security crackdown in the capital began Feb. 14.

Tuesday's bombing was the deadliest single attack in Iraq since April 18, when at least 127 civilians were killed when a bomb detonated in a parked car at a mostly Shiite market in central Baghdad.

Police said a truck piled high with electric fans and air conditioners delivered the huge bomb at the Khulani mosque. The powerful explosion in the busy commercial district cut deep into Iraq's Shiite community on just the second day after authorities lifted a four-day curfew in the capital.

The vehicle ban had been imposed to prevent revenge attacks after a bombing last week brought down twin golden minarets at the Shiite al-Askariya shrine in Samarra, north of the capital. A bombing that destroyed the golden dome there on Feb. 26, 2006, set in motion the sectarian bloodletting .

Tuesday's bombing was presumed to have been carried out by a Sunni attacker . The mosque's imam, Sheik Saleh al-Haidari, said the bombing was particularly deadly because worshippers were just leaving a prayer service.

The Khulani mosque is named after a much-revered Shiite figure who, according to the sect's tradition, was one of four "earthly" deputies anointed by the Imam Mohammed al-Mahdi, who disappeared in the 9th century. Shiites believe the so-called "Hidden Imam" will return to Earth to restore justice to humanity.

Police and officials at four hospitals said at least 78 people were killed and 218 were wounded, adding that the toll could rise as bodies were pulled from the debris. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared retribution.

The U.S. military said the bombing was a suicide attack and that its unit in the area recorded 35 killed and 65 wounded at al-Kindi hospital. The military did not check other facilities for dead or wounded.

Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl, a military spokesman in Baghdad, said the truck was loaded with propane tanks and that a suicide driver detonated his bomb when the vehicle became stuck trying to drive over a curb. It was impossible to reconcile the difference in the police and military accounts about the truck's cargo, or whether the bombing involved a parked truck or a suicide driver.

The U.S. military operation in Diyala province, an al-Qaida bastion, matched in size the force that American generals sent against the insurgent-held city of Fallujah 21/2 years ago. By late Tuesday the military had reported one American death, a soldier killed by an explosion near his vehicle. Two soldiers were wounded.

A second soldier from the 3rd Infantry Division died in a roadside bombing south of Baghdad on Monday, the military said.

Earlier Tuesday, the military said a soldier was killed during combat in eastern Baghdad on Monday.

Additionally, Iraqi forces - about 5,000 Iraqi soldiers and 2,000 paramilitary police - joined the battle in Diyala province, according to Mohammed al-Askari, the defense ministry spokesman.

The U.S. commander in the region, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, said a combined U.S.-Iraqi force of about 3,500 soldiers and police were operating in Baqouba , a city of about 300,000.

The military said at least 22 militants had been killed by daybreak.

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