Al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a suicide bombing that targeted US-allied sheikhs in Baghdad as the White House warned it expected more "spectacular acts of terror" ahead.
The claim came as another sheikh was gunned down in Baghdad and US forces pressed ahead with an offensive northeast of Baghdad to root out al-Qaeda militants based in and around the flashpoint town of Baqubah.
An alliance of Sunni groups led by al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed in an Internet statement that one of its "heroes" had penetrated security at the Al-Mansour Melia hotel on Monday and detonated himself, killing at least 12 people.
PHOTO: AFP
"A hero of the Islamic State of Iraq, Abu Othman al-Dulami, wearing an explosives belt ... infiltrated the Al-Mansour Melia hotel during a gathering of apostates and infidels," said the statement, which could not be verified.
The explosion in the hotel's crowded lobby targeted a meeting of Sunni and Shiite tribal sheikhs who have allied with US forces to fight al-Qaeda. The attack succeeded despite the security "surge" of extra US troops to the city.
The dead included Fassal al-Gawud, an ex-governor of Anbar Province where tribal leaders have turned against al-Qaeda, and Hussein Shaalan, a Shiite tribal chief from the central city of Diwaniyah.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki condemned what he called an attempt to "conceal the terrorists' defeats in Anbar and Diyala provinces at the hands of our armed forces and the tribes."
Another Sunni sheikh, Hamed Abed al-Shijeri, was shot dead in Baghdad on Tuesday, one of several people killed in attacks across the country including three policemen and a university lecturer.
The US military also announced the loss of another soldier, killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad, taking its losses to 74 this month.
In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Snow defended the US "surge" strategy of deploying tens of thousands of additional troops in Iraq and called on lawmakers to be patient.
"Let's make no mistake about it, it's likely to be a very difficult summer," he said. "Terrorists are going to do their very best to try to create very spectacular acts of terror."
While small by Iraqi standards in terms of the number of victims, Monday's attack on the Baghdad hotel was spectacular in its targeting and timing.
The US military's forging of alliances with Sunni sheikhs has been credited with a significant reduction in insurgent violence in areas under their control, particularly Anbar Province.
But elsewhere in the country the bloodletting seems unstoppable, fueled by sectarian tensions and rivalries between well-armed militias.
At least five people were killed when Shiite militiamen ambushed an Iraqi army patrol in Diwaniyah, officials said.
Police said two policemen were killed and 22 wounded when dozens of militants attacked the Al-Asad Iraqi National Police base in Madain, 25km south of Baghdad.
A civilian was killed and six more wounded in a roadside bomb attack against a bus in Baghdad's al-Ghadeer neighborhood.
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