A suicide car bomber rammed a truck carrying Shiite pilgrims returning from a major religious commemoration yesterday, killing at least 32 people a day after Iraqi leaders warned sectarian violence could eventually spread around the region.
The truck was among the convoys ferrying Shiites home from Karbalah, where millions gathered over the weekend -- where they also mourned the deaths of hundreds of pilgrims killed by suspected Sunni extremists last week heading for the ceremony.
Attacks on other pilgrim vehicles killed at least five people in Baghdad. In northern Iraq, a suicide bomber attacked the Mosul offices of Iraq's biggest Sunni political party, killing three guards.
In central Baghdad, the truck was bringing about 70 men and boys home when it was blasted by the car bomber. At least 24 people were injured, police and hospital officials said.
One of the pilgrims, Nasir Sultan, said he was thrown from the truck by the blast.
"I could see lots of burned bodies," he said.
Another pilgrim, Mustafa Moussawi, a 31-year-old vegetable store owner, said they group felt safe after crossing from Sunni-dominated areas and reaching central Baghdad.
"Then the car bomber slammed us from behind," said Moussawi, who suffered injuries to his right hand and shoulder. "I blame the government. They didn't provide a safe route for us even though they knew we were targets for attack."
Iraqi security officials have struggled to protect the annual pilgrimage to mark the end of 40 days mourning for the 7th century battlefield death of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson. Shiites consider him the rightful heir of Islam's leadership, which cemented the rift with Sunni Muslims.
More than 300 Shiite pilgrims were killed by suspected Sunni bombers and gunmen last week as they streamed toward Karbalah, about 80km south of Baghdad.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appealed Saturday for international aid to fight sectarian bloodshed to open a gathering of neighbors and world powers, which included rare diplomatic exchanges between the US and Iran.
He told delegates that Iraq's strife could spill across the Middle East if not quelled.
It resumed even as the delegates packed up the briefcases and dossiers.
The attack on the Iraqi Islamic Party's office in Mosul came as politicians were leaving a reception, party member Mohammed Shakir al-Ghanam said. Three guards were killed and two were wounded, he said.
The reason for the attack was not immediately clear. The party is the only Sunni political movement with a national base.
In central Baghdad, a bomb-rigged car killed at least three pilgrims and injured six.
At about the same time, a suicide bomber detonated a belt packed with metal fragments inside a minibus heading to a mostly Shiite area, killing at least 10 people and wounding five.
The US military said that US and Iraqi troops had captured three suspected members of a bomb-making cell in Tarmiyah,north of Baghdad, on Saturday.
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