July 16, 2009 10:53 AM

Bomber Targets Iraqi Shiites At Mosque

(AP)  A suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt in a line of Shiite worshippers near the entrance of a mosque south of Baghdad during Friday prayer services, killing at least nine people, Iraqi officials said.

The attacker struck around noon while waiting in a line to be searched outside the mosque in Musayyib, a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.

The blast came a day after Iraqi lawmakers approved a security pact with the United States that will allow U.S. forces to stay in Iraq for three more years. Proponents of the deal - which still must be ratified by the three-member presidential council - argued the Americans are still needed because Iraqis aren't ready to take over security.

Anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for peaceful protests over the agreement in a statement Friday. But in a significant omission, he did not repeat his threat to unleash militia fighters to attack U.S. forces if they don't leave immediately.

Al-Sadr also urged his followers to close his offices and affiliated institutions for three days "to show the tragedy that has befallen us," according to the statement that was read to reporters by his spokesman Sheik Salah al-Obeidi.

"We offer our condolences to the Iraqi people over this calamity that has fallen upon them with the signing of the agreement of humiliation and indignity," it said. "We will keep on calling for continuous peaceful public protests."

A cease-fire order by the Shiite cleric, who is believed to be in Iran, has been a key factor in the drop in violence over the past year.

Friday's suicide bomber struck a mosque run by al-Sadr loyalists in Musayyib, 40 miles south of Baghdad.

The police officer said the nine killed included a woman who was begging nearby. Dr. Saad al-Janabi confirmed the casualty toll, saying 15 people also were wounded.

Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack but suicide bombers are the signature attack of the group al Qaeda in Iraq. The U.S. military has warned that Sunni insurgents are trying to provoke revenge attacks by Shiite extremists.

Under the pact, U.S. forces will withdraw from Iraqi towns and cities by June 30 and the entire country by Jan. 1, 2012.

Iraq also will have strict oversight over the nearly 150,000 American troops now on the ground, representing a step toward full sovereignty for Iraq and a shift from the sense of frustration many Iraqis feel at the presence of U.S. troops on their soil for so many years.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Add a Comment See all 40 Comments
by earache4 November 29, 2008 12:33 PM EST
Who will be the last to die for a lie?
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by petro49l November 29, 2008 12:05 PM EST
Bin Laden kills without warning or mercy. His money finances terror all over the Middle East. Terror Groups purchase rifles, explosives, vehicles, and safe houses to perpetrate the murders of the Public. Osama softens the region with violence so he can traffick narcotics like tar heroin, methamphetamine, PCP, LSD, and potent hashish. Al Qada deals smut magazines and Internet porn depicting the forcible, sexual rape of small, naked Children. Bin Laden not only corrupts the morality of the People, but he gets rich doing it.
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by pirmin3 November 29, 2008 11:27 AM EST
Yawn!!
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by ffoulkes-2009 November 29, 2008 7:10 AM EST
Illegal war???


"Iraq Resolution" and "Iraq War Resolution" are popular names for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002,[1] a joint resolution (i.e. a law) passed by the United States Congress in October 2002 as Public Law No: 107-243, authorizing the Iraq War.
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by ajaxtheleast November 29, 2008 6:08 AM EST
Unindicted or not,,,,

Iraq was a war crime

is now a war crime


will always be a war crime

and a republican president

is the war criminal.

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by kretosdav November 29, 2008 5:41 AM EST
Al Cia- da provoke shia sunni war
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by libsh8theusa November 28, 2008 7:41 PM EST
Blah blah bla... What a bunch of liberal spam for comments..
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by earache4 November 28, 2008 6:43 PM EST
SATIRE!!!! now we are all saved..
Posted by MrMeatSpin at 02:59 PM

Except the 4000 who aren''t comming home...right?
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by liberalme November 28, 2008 6:28 PM EST
since nothing is stopping osama now..they would remind you pretty soon why we keep thie war in middle east

Posted by MrMeatSpin

Nothing has stopped Bin Laden or no one has tried stopping Bin Laden?

Early on, the US knew Bin Laden was in Tora Bora---OUR CIA has detailed maps of Tora Bora---tell me where the effort was!
Our military has had Bin Laden in their sites a couple times since then and have been told to back off!
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by mrmeatspin November 28, 2008 6:06 PM EST
Posted by liberalme at 02:57 PM : Nov 28, 2008
+ report abuse


**********

since nothing is stopping osama now..they would remind you pretty soon why we keep thie war in middle east
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