.Triple blasts kill 70-plus at Baghdad mosque
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Three suicide bombers on Friday struck a Baghdad mosque affiliated with a major Shiite political party, killing at least 74 people, according to the Iraqi Health Ministry.
Another 136 people were wounded, authorities said.
The attack occurred a day after a bomb killed 10 people and wounded more than three dozen others near the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, the holy Shiite city in south-central Iraq. (Full story)
Friday's blasts went off more than three hours after noon prayers at northern Baghdad's Buratha mosque, which has ties with the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. The group is a part of the Shiite-led United Iraqi Alliance, the coalition that won a plurality in the December 15 parliamentary elections.
The mosque's imam is Sheikh Jalaluddin al-Saghir, a member of parliament affiliated with the Shiite alliance.
Police said two of the bombers may have been wearing women's cloaks. The genders of the attackers is unknown.
The three were wearing suicide vests. One detonated an explosive inside the hallway of the mosque, another at the main entrance and the third outside the site as worshippers were leaving, police said. (Watch worshippers vent their anger after the blasts -- 2:37)
Security is tight in and around the mosque, and police want to know how bombers were able to penetrate the area.
News footage showed ambulances and pickup trucks hauling the injured away.
Police originally thought three mortars had caused the explosions.
Warning of possible attacks
The Iraqi Interior Ministry had issued warnings about possible attacks on Friday, which precedes two holidays. Sunday marks the third anniversary of the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime, and Monday honors the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed.
Haitham al-Husseini, a spokesman for the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, condemned the mosque attack as "horrible" and blamed it on insurgents.
"The Iraqi people always lived together hundreds of years -- different components -- Arabs, Kurds and the Shiites. They've got strong ties and relations between them," he said. "They are stronger than the terrorist groups and the remnants of the regime who are trying" to foment sectarian strife.
Calling the attack "vicious," Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, offered condolences and exhorted Iraqis to "exercise restraint."
"The terrorists who seek to murder innocent people who worship at Iraq's holy sites and religious institutions are the enemies of all faiths and of all humanity. The United States condemns this cowardly act in the strongest possible terms," Khalilzad said in a written statement.
He said the U.S. government will "do everything in its power" to help the Iraqi government bring those responsible to justice.
Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence has escalated since the February 22 bombing of Al-Askariya Mosque, a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra, north of Baghdad. That strike, blamed on Sunni insurgents, generated Shiite reprisals and Sunni counterreprisals.
U.S. and British officials have urged Iraqi leaders to end a political stalemate and quickly form a national unity government to ensure the establishment of law and order.
The United Iraqi Alliance and a Kurdish coalition have dominated the transitional government since January 2005.
The former's choice of Ibrahim al-Jaafari as prime minister of the permanent government is a key factor in the stalemate. Sunnis, Kurds and secular Shiites oppose al-Jaafari's nomination and want another candidate.
U.S. military probes civilian's death
A mortar round fired by American soldiers accidentally killed a civilian this week in northwestern Iraq, the U.S. military said Friday.
The military said the death is under investigation. The killing took place Wednesday near a village west of Tal Afar.
"Soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division were firing mortars at a suspected terrorist location when the incident occurred. The round fell short of the intended target and killed the man," a military statement said.
Other developments
An American service member died from wounds Friday in a small-arms attack while on patrol in western Baghdad, the U.S. military said. Two troops also died Thursday, the military said. A roadside blast killed a soldier in Baiji, and a Marine died in combat in Anbar province, west of the capital. The number of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq war stands at 2,347.
An Iraqi considered the prime suspect in the 2005 kidnapping of Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena has been captured, U.S.-led multinational military forces said Thursday. Muhammed Hila Hammad Ubaydi was caught March 7, but the announcement of his capture was delayed until DNA testing could verify his identity, the military said. Sgrena was kidnapped in Baghdad in February 2005 before being freed a month later after Italian agent Nicola Calipari negotiated her release. He was escorting her to Baghdad International Airport when U.S. troops shot him to death at a checkpoint. The United States said the shooting was an accident; Italy has disputed that conclusion.
CNN
Another 136 people were wounded, authorities said.
The attack occurred a day after a bomb killed 10 people and wounded more than three dozen others near the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, the holy Shiite city in south-central Iraq. (Full story)
Friday's blasts went off more than three hours after noon prayers at northern Baghdad's Buratha mosque, which has ties with the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. The group is a part of the Shiite-led United Iraqi Alliance, the coalition that won a plurality in the December 15 parliamentary elections.
The mosque's imam is Sheikh Jalaluddin al-Saghir, a member of parliament affiliated with the Shiite alliance.
Police said two of the bombers may have been wearing women's cloaks. The genders of the attackers is unknown.
The three were wearing suicide vests. One detonated an explosive inside the hallway of the mosque, another at the main entrance and the third outside the site as worshippers were leaving, police said. (Watch worshippers vent their anger after the blasts -- 2:37)
Security is tight in and around the mosque, and police want to know how bombers were able to penetrate the area.
News footage showed ambulances and pickup trucks hauling the injured away.
Police originally thought three mortars had caused the explosions.
Warning of possible attacks
The Iraqi Interior Ministry had issued warnings about possible attacks on Friday, which precedes two holidays. Sunday marks the third anniversary of the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime, and Monday honors the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed.
Haitham al-Husseini, a spokesman for the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, condemned the mosque attack as "horrible" and blamed it on insurgents.
"The Iraqi people always lived together hundreds of years -- different components -- Arabs, Kurds and the Shiites. They've got strong ties and relations between them," he said. "They are stronger than the terrorist groups and the remnants of the regime who are trying" to foment sectarian strife.
Calling the attack "vicious," Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, offered condolences and exhorted Iraqis to "exercise restraint."
"The terrorists who seek to murder innocent people who worship at Iraq's holy sites and religious institutions are the enemies of all faiths and of all humanity. The United States condemns this cowardly act in the strongest possible terms," Khalilzad said in a written statement.
He said the U.S. government will "do everything in its power" to help the Iraqi government bring those responsible to justice.
Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence has escalated since the February 22 bombing of Al-Askariya Mosque, a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra, north of Baghdad. That strike, blamed on Sunni insurgents, generated Shiite reprisals and Sunni counterreprisals.
U.S. and British officials have urged Iraqi leaders to end a political stalemate and quickly form a national unity government to ensure the establishment of law and order.
The United Iraqi Alliance and a Kurdish coalition have dominated the transitional government since January 2005.
The former's choice of Ibrahim al-Jaafari as prime minister of the permanent government is a key factor in the stalemate. Sunnis, Kurds and secular Shiites oppose al-Jaafari's nomination and want another candidate.
U.S. military probes civilian's death
A mortar round fired by American soldiers accidentally killed a civilian this week in northwestern Iraq, the U.S. military said Friday.
The military said the death is under investigation. The killing took place Wednesday near a village west of Tal Afar.
"Soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division were firing mortars at a suspected terrorist location when the incident occurred. The round fell short of the intended target and killed the man," a military statement said.
Other developments
An American service member died from wounds Friday in a small-arms attack while on patrol in western Baghdad, the U.S. military said. Two troops also died Thursday, the military said. A roadside blast killed a soldier in Baiji, and a Marine died in combat in Anbar province, west of the capital. The number of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq war stands at 2,347.
An Iraqi considered the prime suspect in the 2005 kidnapping of Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena has been captured, U.S.-led multinational military forces said Thursday. Muhammed Hila Hammad Ubaydi was caught March 7, but the announcement of his capture was delayed until DNA testing could verify his identity, the military said. Sgrena was kidnapped in Baghdad in February 2005 before being freed a month later after Italian agent Nicola Calipari negotiated her release. He was escorting her to Baghdad International Airport when U.S. troops shot him to death at a checkpoint. The United States said the shooting was an accident; Italy has disputed that conclusion.
CNN
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