Police: Car bomb in Shiite area of Baghdad kills 9

[April 07, 2009]  BAGHDAD (AP) -- A car bomb in a Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad killed at least nine people and wounded 18 others on Tuesday, a day after a deadly wave of bombings swept the Iraqi capital and raised concerns that Iraqi forces were ill-prepared to secure the city as U.S. troops thin out.

The Interior Ministry, meanwhile, warned of the likelihood of more car bombings, saying measures were being taken to try to prevent them.

A parked car rigged with explosives went off around noon Tuesday on a busy commercial street in the Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah, not far from a mosque where midday prayers were under way.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack and police officials would not speculate on possible targets. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

The blast came as Baghdad was still reeling from Monday's bombings, which killed 37 people and wounded more than 100 others in a stunning sequence of attacks from one end of the city to the other. The bombings targeted busy marketplaces, a police convoy ferrying a senior security officer and laborers looking for work.

Those attacks also occurred in Shiite neighborhoods.

The government blamed supporters of Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida and suggested the attacks were timed for Tuesday's anniversary of the founding of the late dictator's Baath party. They also happened ahead of Thursday's sixth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad to U.S. forces during the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam's regime.

Tensions are mounting in Baghdad and elsewhere, along with anger at what is perceived as the government's failure to handle security as U.S. forces are drawing down in the capital. Iraqis worry their own forces may not be able to maintain order if Shiite-Sunni violence flares again once the Americans leave.

The Interior Ministry spokesman warned Tuesday that Baghdad residents should expect more bombings but authorities were stepping up measures to prevent them.

Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said 400 explosives detection devices had been sent to police and army checkpoints around the city to intercept car bombs.

"We expect some increase in violence in the capital," he told The Associated Press.

Many families of the victims from Monday's blasts were burying their loved ones Tuesday in the holy city of Najaf, a traditional burial site for Iraqi Shiites. Their grief mixed with anger, they openly criticized the government for failing to prevent the bombings.

One mourner, Mustafa Radhi, buried his relatives -- a young husband and wife who died together with their newborn son at one of the market bombings Monday.

"We hold the security forces responsible for what happened," Radhi said. "Innocent people and children died because of their negligence."

Another mourner, Kamil Sabah, 25, criticized the government for claiming to have curbed the attacks that long terrorized Baghdad. "Where is the government now?" he said.

The party of former Prime Minister Ayad Alawi, a secular Shiite, said stability was impossible without "isolating terrorists" and bringing attackers to trial.

"We do believe that starting a real national reconciliation to isolate terrorists and criminals has become a must to achieve stability in Iraq," said the Iraqi National Accord party.

[Associated Press; By SINAN SALAHEDDIN]

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