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WASHINGTON - "There is no doubt" suspected Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi masterminded the pair of suicide bombings in Iraq on Tuesday that killed dozens of people during a Shiite Muslim religious observance, Gen. John Abizaid, the chief of U.S. Central Command, said Wednesday.
Abizaid, testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, said the bombings showed a level of sophistication and coordination not previously seen in the string of deadly bombings that have occurred in Iraq since the summer. He said at least six suicide bombers were involved in the attacks, which occurred less than four minutes apart at shrines in Karbala and Baghdad.
"The level of organization and the desire to cause casualties among innocent worshipers is a clear hallmark of the Zarqawi network," Abizaid said.
Later, he told reporters: "I personally believe there is no doubt that Zarqawi is behind this."
U.S. and Iraqi officials disagreed over how many people died in Tuesday's bombings in Baghdad and Karbala - the deadliest since the fall of Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi Governing Council said 271 people were killed. U.S. officials put the toll at 117.
Abizaid said U.S. forces received intelligence before Tuesday's bombings indicating an attack was imminent, though none of it was specific.
But it allowed U.S. commandos to carry out a successful raid on Zarqawi "network operatives" the night before, which prevented further carnage, he said, including thwarting a suicide car bombing in the southern city of Basra.
U.S. officials said 15 people were detained in Karbala in connection with the attacks, though none was charged.
A letter purported to come from al-Qaida denied responsibility for the bombings. The letter was received Wednesday via e-mail by the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper.
Wednesday, a saboteur fired three rockets at a state-of-the-art Baghdad telephone exchange that had taken engineers for the U.S.-led occupation eight months and $50-million to install. The attack cut off international calling, killed one worker and wounded another.
- Information from Knight Ridder Newspapers, the Associated Press and the Washington Post was used in this report.