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| Baghdad Shias mourn bomb victims | Baghdad Shias mourn bomb victims |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Funeral processions have begun in Iraq for victims of Thursday's bomb attacks in Baghdad's Shia Sadr City district. | Funeral processions have begun in Iraq for victims of Thursday's bomb attacks in Baghdad's Shia Sadr City district. |
| More than 200 people are now known to have died in the blasts. A fresh bomb attack has killed 22 in northern Iraq. | More than 200 people are now known to have died in the blasts. A fresh bomb attack has killed 22 in northern Iraq. |
| The group headed by radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr says it will quit Iraq's unity government if a meeting with US President George W Bush goes ahead. | The group headed by radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr says it will quit Iraq's unity government if a meeting with US President George W Bush goes ahead. |
| The group, until now a key supporter of Iraq's Shia-led government, says US-led forces are to blame for the violence. | The group, until now a key supporter of Iraq's Shia-led government, says US-led forces are to blame for the violence. |
| "We will withdraw from the government and parliament if the prime minister meets Bush," the group said on Friday. | "We will withdraw from the government and parliament if the prime minister meets Bush," the group said on Friday. |
| The meeting is due to take place in Jordan next week. | The meeting is due to take place in Jordan next week. |
| Mr Sadr's followers hold six cabinet posts and have 30 members in the 275-seat parliament. | Mr Sadr's followers hold six cabinet posts and have 30 members in the 275-seat parliament. |
| Their withdrawal would be a major blow to an already unstable government, the BBC's Andy Gallacher in Baghdad says. | Their withdrawal would be a major blow to an already unstable government, the BBC's Andy Gallacher in Baghdad says. |
| href="/1/hi/in_pictures/6180342.stm" class="">In pictures: Iraq funerals Who are the armed groups? Send us your comments The government has imposed an indefinite, 24-hour curfew in Baghdad. | |
| The only people and vehicles allowed on the streets on Friday were those taking part in the funeral processions. | The only people and vehicles allowed on the streets on Friday were those taking part in the funeral processions. |
| Mourners cried as they walked beside vehicles taking coffins south to Najaf, the traditional burial place for Shias, which is 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad. | Mourners cried as they walked beside vehicles taking coffins south to Najaf, the traditional burial place for Shias, which is 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad. |
| Thousands of men, women and children beat their chests, chanted and cried as they accompanied the processions. | Thousands of men, women and children beat their chests, chanted and cried as they accompanied the processions. |
| Bodies have begun arriving in Najaf and will be buried in the city's ancient cemetery. | Bodies have begun arriving in Najaf and will be buried in the city's ancient cemetery. |
| Show of unity | Show of unity |
| Thursday's multiple car bomb attacks in Sadr City - in which 250 people were also wounded - were the deadliest in Iraq since the US-led invasion of 2003. | Thursday's multiple car bomb attacks in Sadr City - in which 250 people were also wounded - were the deadliest in Iraq since the US-led invasion of 2003. |
| Leaders of Iraq's Shia, Sunni and Kurdish communities have appealed for calm in a show of unity. | Leaders of Iraq's Shia, Sunni and Kurdish communities have appealed for calm in a show of unity. |
| BLOODIEST DAYS OF VIOLENCE 23 Nov 2006 - 202 deadWave of car bomb and mortar blasts strike Sadr City in Baghdad7 April 2006 - 85 deadTriple suicide bombing at Shia Buratha mosque in Baghdad5 Jan 2006 - 110 deadSuicide bombers hit Karbala shrine and police recruiting station in Ramadi14 Sept 2005 - 182 deadSuicide car bomber targets Baghdad labourers in worst of a series of bombs28 Feb 2005 - 114 deadSuicide car bomb hits government jobseekers in Hilla2 March 2004 - 140 deadSuicide bombers attack Shia festival-goers in Karbala and Baghdad1 Feb 2004 - 105 deadTwin attacks on Kurdish parties' offices in Irbil | BLOODIEST DAYS OF VIOLENCE 23 Nov 2006 - 202 deadWave of car bomb and mortar blasts strike Sadr City in Baghdad7 April 2006 - 85 deadTriple suicide bombing at Shia Buratha mosque in Baghdad5 Jan 2006 - 110 deadSuicide bombers hit Karbala shrine and police recruiting station in Ramadi14 Sept 2005 - 182 deadSuicide car bomber targets Baghdad labourers in worst of a series of bombs28 Feb 2005 - 114 deadSuicide car bomb hits government jobseekers in Hilla2 March 2004 - 140 deadSuicide bombers attack Shia festival-goers in Karbala and Baghdad1 Feb 2004 - 105 deadTwin attacks on Kurdish parties' offices in Irbil |
| Iraq's most prominent Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, urged people "not to react illegally and maintain self-restraint", one of his officials said. | Iraq's most prominent Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, urged people "not to react illegally and maintain self-restraint", one of his officials said. |
| The prime minister also called on Iraqis not to resort to violence. | The prime minister also called on Iraqis not to resort to violence. |
| "We denounce sectarian practices that aim to destroy the unity of the nation," Mr Maliki said in a television broadcast on Thursday. | "We denounce sectarian practices that aim to destroy the unity of the nation," Mr Maliki said in a television broadcast on Thursday. |
| Despite the appeals and the curfew, an apparent retaliatory mortar attack targeted a Sunni mosque in Baghdad overnight. One person is reported to have been killed. | Despite the appeals and the curfew, an apparent retaliatory mortar attack targeted a Sunni mosque in Baghdad overnight. One person is reported to have been killed. |
| Sadr City is largely controlled by the Mehdi Army, the best-known of the Shia Iraqi militias, which has been accused of carrying out many sectarian attacks. | Sadr City is largely controlled by the Mehdi Army, the best-known of the Shia Iraqi militias, which has been accused of carrying out many sectarian attacks. |
| Friday's bombing occurred in the northern city of Talafar, and is believed to have been carried out by at least one suicide bomber. | Friday's bombing occurred in the northern city of Talafar, and is believed to have been carried out by at least one suicide bomber. |
| Reuters news agency quoted a police officer as saying the 22 who died were shopping at a market. | Reuters news agency quoted a police officer as saying the 22 who died were shopping at a market. |
| Talafar, close to the Syrian border, was once a bastion for Sunni guerrillas, but has been held up by US forces in Iraq as a example of successful counter-insurgency operations. | Talafar, close to the Syrian border, was once a bastion for Sunni guerrillas, but has been held up by US forces in Iraq as a example of successful counter-insurgency operations. |