Monday, March 19, 2007
Two bombs explode in Kirkuk as Shiite mosque in Baghdad attacked
Security
(AP) - Two car bombs exploded in different parts of the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk on Monday, killing at least 12 people and wounding 37, police said. The first explosion occurred near a market in southern Kirkuk, which has an Arab majority, while the second took place in the center of the city, targeting a residential area with a mixed Kurdish and Turkomen population. Kirkuk, located 180 miles north of Baghdad, has seen a recent rise in violence that many blame on insurgents who have fled a security crackdown in Baghdad. The city is also the center of an ethnic power struggle as Kurds are seeking to incorporate it into their autonomous zone.
A bomb exploded during prayers at a Shiite mosque in the capital Monday, killing at least eight worshippers and wounding nearly three dozen on the eve of the war's fourth anniversary, police said. The attack occurred about 12:30 p.m., shattering windows and damaging a wall of the small green-domed mosque that is situated among several shops in the central Shorja market area. Police initially blamed it on a suicide bomber trying to enter the building but later said the blast was caused by a bomb placed in the corner behind the preacher's podium, leaving a crater in the floor. Gheith Jassim, the 32-year-old owner of a textile shop near the mosque, said some worshippers at the scene were cursing Sunni extremists. "We are not saved from them even during prayers," he said. "They want to ignite Sunni-Shiite strife."
Labels: bombings, Kirkuk, Shiite mosque
