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Iraq mosque bombing kills 26

Fears of sectarian bloodshed engulfed Iraq yesterday after 26 people were killed in the latest bombing of a Shiite mosque as top Shiites remained deadlocked on the fate of embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari.

At least 26 people died and 70 were wounded in a car bombing near a Shiite mosque in Iraq's restive city of Baquba late on Wednesday, the latest in a wave of sectarian attacks plaguing the country.

The bomb went off in a busy market street as worshippers were leaving the mosque in the town of Howaider, near Baquba, 60km northeast of Baghdad.

The attack was similar to the April 7 triple bombings in Baghdad's Baratha Shiite mosque which left 90 worshippers dead as they stepped out of the sanctuary after Friday prayers.

The incident was the latest in a series of attacks targeting Iraq's dominant majority Shiite community, with nearly 150 Shiites killed in the last few days.

It also comes at a time when a yawning political vacuum over the candidacy of Jaafari as the next premier has made Iraq increasingly vulnerable, with US forces also facing increased rebel attacks.

Since April 1, the US military has lost more than 30 servicemen across the country, mostly in roadside bombings. A significant number of these deaths have been reported in the western al-Anbar province.

On Wednesday, the US military reported the deaths of nine of its troops.

Meanwhile, the political deadlock over Jaafari continued with the Shiite alliance undecided whether to hold an earlier announced meeting of its leaders yesterday.

Early yesterday Shiite leaders were talking amongst themselves on the issue of Jaafari, who has refused to step down despite mounting pressure from the Kurds and Sunni parliamentary blocs and also from the US and Britain.

"We are trying to resolve the issue within ourselves by discussions," said Hassan al-Shummarri, a Shiite MP from the Fadhila party, one of the Shiite alliance members.

"There are two views emerging in the alliance -- one wants to go to parliament to seek a vote on Jaafari and the other wants to decide first and then go to the parliament."

Kurds and Sunnis have rejected Jaafari's candidacy as they find him incapable of reining in the sectarian violence that has left hundreds dead in tit-for-tat killings since the Feb. 22 Samarra shrine bombing.

Jaafari himself has refused to budge saying his political fate should be decided on the floor of the parliament.

With no immediate sign of a resolution, doubts rose yesterday on whether Iraq would be able to convene the parliament on Monday as announced by the speaker Adnan al-Pachachi.

In what was seen as a sign that the impasse was nearing an end, Pachachi told reporters on Wednesday that parliament will meet on Monday, marking only the second time the body would meet in the four months since a landmark election in December.

"There are signs that there will be agreement on all problems concerning formation of the government," Pachachi said.

The new parliament was inaugurated on March 16 but swiftly adjourned amid little sign of a deal on a government of national unity.

Quizzed on whether parliament would vote on Jaafari's fate, Pachachi said that his candidacy still required approval from the presidential council.

Iraq's constitution stipulates that the appointment of the prime minister needs to be sealed by a three-member presidential council which lawmakers have yet to appoint.

The dominant UIA, which won 128 out of 275 parliament seats in the December election, chose Jaafari by a single vote in February.
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