(The Washington Times) Saad Sarhan - Explosives packed in vehicles tore through crowds Sunday in Najaf and Karbala, Iraq's two most sacred Shi'ite cities, killing at least 64 people and wounding scores more. (Washington Post) Shi'ite leaders blamed Sunni insurgents for what they described as an attempt to ignite civil war. Officials said the spectacular style of the attacks pointed to the Sunni insurgents who have been waging a daily campaign against targets associated with the Iraqi government, its security forces, and the U.S. military. A spokesman for Muqtada al-Sadr, who has called off his anti-U.S. attacks to allow the election to proceed, blamed the current violence on Saddam loyalists, followers of the Saudi-based fundamentalist Wahhabi sect, and terrorist groups like that of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. (Chicago Tribune/Philadelphia Inquirer)
2004-12-20 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive