Two suicide bombers strapped with explosives blew themselves up in the middle of a protest by former policemen south of Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 29 and injuring 128 others in one of the deadliest attacks in a month of escalating violence.
The blasts in the mostly Shiite town of Hilla and the brief detention of a Sunni Arab political leader by US forces in Baghdad put fresh strain on ties between Iraq's Muslim sects. Al-Qaeda's network in Iraq claimed responsibility for the bombings in separate statements posted on the Internet.
Police said the bombers mingled with former police commandos who were demonstrating outside a government office because their unit had been disbanded.
PHOTO: AFP
The first bomber detonated his explosives in the middle of the crowd. As survivors scattered, the other bomber ran with them and blew himself up nearby.
"You just can't count the dead because the bodies were torn apart," said one Iraqi man surveying the scene. "May God punish those who did this."
Body parts lay in pools of blood on the street beside discarded sandals and shoes. Workers carried shredded bodies on stretchers and sheets and loaded them onto the back of pick-up trucks.
Insurgents have stepped up suicide attacks and ambushes over the past month, killing more than 700 Iraqis since a new Shiite-led Cabinet was announced on April 28.
Seventy US troops have been killed this month, making it the deadliest month for the US military since January when insurgents tried to derail the Jan. 30 elections.
The escalating violence in Iraq has worsened sectarian tensions. Political leaders have called for calm, telling Iraqis not to allow insurgents to push the country towards civil war.
There are also fears of ethnic tensions between Kurds and Arabs. In Kirkuk, a Kurdish general was shot dead overnight Sunday, the latest official to be assassinated in the Arab-Kurd city. The militant group Army of Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility.
Washington has been encouraging the Shiite and Kurdish blocs that emerged strongest from the January polls to involve more Sunni Arabs in the drafting of a permanent constitution, the next step on Iraq's path to democracy.
Sunni Arabs dominated Iraq during Saddam's rule but won only 17 seats in Iraq's 275-member parliament because many Sunni groups boycotted the elections and violence in Sunni Arab areas meant turnout there was extremely low.
The government, trying to defuse sectarian tension and undermine an insurgency dominated by Sunni Arab fighters, gave several Cabinet posts to Sunnis and says it is examining ways to give them a greater role in drafting the constitution.
But in a move that inflamed Sunni Arab anger, US troops arrested Mohsen Abdul-Hamid, the leader of an influential Sunni party, yesterday, the party said. He was later released.
"This morning coalition forces detained and interviewed Mohsen Abdul-Hamid. Following the interview it was determined that he was detained by mistake and should be released," a statement issued by the US military said.
Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, a Shiite, has ordered an investigation into Abdul-Hamid's detention, his spokesman said.
"We believe there are parties that are benefiting from such raids on prominent Sunni leaders who have been supporting the political process and democracy in Iraq," the spokesman said. "This is the fourth time that a Sunni leader has been arrested."
The Iraqi Islamic Party withdrew from the January elections, saying violence in Sunni areas meant the polls would not be fair. But it has signalled it is ready to take a greater part in Iraqi politics and the writing of a constitution.
"The US administration claims it is interested in drawing Sunnis into the political process but it seems that their way of doing so is by raids, arrests and violating human rights," the party said in a statement.
Meanwhile, in western Anbar province, US troops raided two towns on the Euphrates river and killed several foreign fighters, the US military said.
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