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Iraq

53 killed as violence surges in Iraq

BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber struck a funeral for a Shiite politician's nephew Wednesday, killing at least 32 mourners, wounding dozens and splattering tombstones with blood - part of a surge of violence as Iraqi leaders try to form a coalition government.

Altogether, 53 people died in the day's attacks, which included two car bombings in Baghdad and a militant ambush on a convoy of 60 oil tanker trucks heading from Iraq's biggest refinery to the capital.

The funeral bombing in Muqdadiyah, 60 miles north of Baghdad, bore hallmarks of Islamic extremist groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq. Politicians said the attack was an attempt to hinder a broad-based government, or force the dominant Shiite alliance into compromises. Shiites were said to be close to a deal on a coalition with Sunni Arabs and Kurds nearly three weeks after parliamentary elections.

The bomber struck as more than 100 mourners chanted a ritual Islamic prayer, "There is no god but God." They were at the cemetery to bury a 14-year-old boy a day after he was killed in a failed assassination attempt on his uncle, Ahmed al-Bakka, the director of the local hospital.

Al-Bakka, who was not at the funeral, is the head of the local branch of the Dawa party. Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari leads the party, a main partner in the largest Shiite political coalition, the United Iraqi Alliance.

"We were walking in the funeral procession when a strange person joined the crowd," said Amer Khazim, 37. "Suddenly, there was a strong sound and we were turned upside down. . . . I saw many legs and hands flying all over the place."

Final results from the elections should be released within two weeks and are expected to show the United Iraqi Alliance with about 130 of parliament's 275 seats. That figure is well short of the 184 needed to form a government.

A partner in the largest Sunni Arab political group denounced the attack.

"The Islamic Party condemns such ugly acts that are aimed at dividing the country," said Nassir al-Ani. "The perpetrators want to cause divisions and hinder the political process in Iraq, but they will fail and we will establish a national unity government."

Meanwhile, roadblocks went up across Baghdad as police searched for Interior Minister Bayan Jabr's sister, who was kidnapped Tuesday. Gunmen killed one of her bodyguards and seriously wounded another in the abduction. Al-Jazeera TV said a previously unknown group called al-Tha'r Battalion, Arabic for revenge, claimed responsibility for the abduction. It demanded the release of all women detainees, a stop to all raids by the Interior Ministry, and decreased fuel prices.

In other violence:

A car bomb exploded near an outdoor market in Baghdad's southern Dora district, killing seven people and wounding 15, police said.

Another car bomb in northern Baghdad killed three civilians and a policeman, and wounded 13, said Maj. Mosa Abdelkareem.

A roadside bomb targeting a U.S. patrol in Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad, hit a civilian car instead, killing three passengers, said police Col. Polla Mohammed.

CIVILIAN TOLL HIGH: More than 7,000 Iraqis, most of them civilians, were killed in violence in 2005, the first year that Iraqi officials have kept such records, an Interior Ministry official said Wednesday. The year saw 2,880 terrorist attacks target Iraqi security forces and civilians, Maj. Abdul Aziz al-Mousawi said. Some 1,225 policemen and 475 soldiers were killed, along with 4,021 civilians and 1,709 insurgents, he said. Overall, 7,430 Iraqis were killed, according to the figures.

According to an Associated Press count, at least 4,942 Iraqis were killed in war-related violence from April 28, 2005, when the new government took office, through December 31. The number includes civilians, government officials and police and security forces, and is considered only a minimum based on AP reporting.

[Last modified January 5, 2006, 01:19:08]