Iraq: Suicide bomber kills 11 south of Baghdad

[November 28, 2008]  BAGHDAD (AP) -- A suicide bomber blew himself up among worshippers waiting to be searched at the entrance to a Shiite mosque south of Baghdad on Friday, killing at least 11 people, Iraqi officials said.

The blast occurred a day after Iraqi lawmakers approved a security pact with the United States that will allow U.S. forces to stay in Iraq for three more years.

Proponents of the deal - which still must be ratified by the three-member presidential council - say the Americans are still needed because Iraqis aren't ready to take over security despite a sharp drop in violence since last year.

A key aide to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, however, linked Friday's bombing to the agreement and warned continued opposition to the American presence will lead to more violence.

"The explosion that took place today near a Shiite mosque in Musayyib town is one of the consequences of the security agreement," Sheik Abdul-Hadi Al-Mohammadawi said during a sermon in the Sadrist stronghold of Kufa. "The Iraqi government cannot survive without the U.S. presence and as long as the Americans remain here, Iraq will be still a battlefield."

Al-Sadr called for peaceful protests against the agreement in a statement Friday. He also urged his followers to close his offices and affiliated institutions for three days in protest, according to the statement that was read to reporters by his spokesman, Sheik Salah al-Obeidi.

"We offer our condolences to the Iraqi people over this calamity that has fallen upon them with the signing of the agreement of humiliation and indignity," it said.

A cease-fire order by the Shiite cleric, who is believed to be in Iran, has been a key factor in the drop in violence over the past year. His militia had also been heavily targeted in U.S. and Iraqi operations.

Friday's suicide bomber struck a mosque run by al-Sadr loyalists in Musayyib, 40 miles south of Baghdad.

The attacker detonated his explosives belt around noon as he waited in a line to be searched at the mosque, a police officer said on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.

Mahdi Rajab, owner of a nearby grocery store, said the force of the blast shattered windows.

"I went outside to see what happened and I saw dead bodies at the entrance of the mosque and worshippers were running away in panic," he said.

The police officer said 11 people died, including a female beggar. Dr. Saad al-Janabi of the local hospital confirmed the death toll and said 19 people also were wounded.

The U.S. military said the suicide bombing occurred shortly after noon. It said eight civilians were killed and 15 wounded.

There was no claim of responsibility, but suicide bombings are associated with Sunni extremist groups. The U.S. military has warned Sunni insurgents are trying to provoke revenge attacks by Shiite extremists in order to reignite sectarian warfare.

Under the security pact, U.S. forces will withdraw from Iraqi towns and cities by June 30 and the entire country by Jan. 1, 2012. Iraq will have strict oversight over the nearly 150,000 American troops now on the ground, representing a step toward full sovereignty for Iraq.

[Associated Press; By BUSHRA JUHI]

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