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Iraq extends curfew amid violence | Iraq extends curfew amid violence |
(about 2 hours later) | |
The Iraqi authorities have extended until Monday a curfew imposed on Baghdad in response to recent killings. | |
The measure was intended to prevent reprisals for bomb attacks on the Sadr City area which killed more than 200. | |
Violence continued across Iraq however, with 21 bodies found in a village north of Baghdad. US and Iraqi forces said more than 50 insurgents died in raids. | |
President Jalal Talabani has also had to postpone a much-anticipated trip to Iran, as Baghdad's airport is closed. | President Jalal Talabani has also had to postpone a much-anticipated trip to Iran, as Baghdad's airport is closed. |
Mr Talabani had been due to meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for talks on Iraq's security situation. | Mr Talabani had been due to meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for talks on Iraq's security situation. |
A spokesman for Mr Talabani said he would travel when the airport re-opened. | A spokesman for Mr Talabani said he would travel when the airport re-opened. |
Separately, US Vice-President Dick Cheney has arrived in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, for talks with King Abdullah on the situation in the Middle East, particularly Iraq. | Separately, US Vice-President Dick Cheney has arrived in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, for talks with King Abdullah on the situation in the Middle East, particularly Iraq. |
'Bomb-making factory' | 'Bomb-making factory' |
Despite the heavy police presence in the capital, there were reports that the Shia Sadr City district had been hit by a barrage of mortars on Saturday, says the BBC's Andy Gallacher in Baghdad. | |
An Iraqi journalists living in the area said he had heard 12 explosions but there have been no immediate reports of casualties, our correspondent adds. | An Iraqi journalists living in the area said he had heard 12 explosions but there have been no immediate reports of casualties, our correspondent adds. |
Moqtada Sadr's group is calling for US forces to leaveThe US military said the 22 insurgents killed by its forces had died in clashes to the north of Baghdad. | |
Ten insurgents died in a raid on a bomb-making factory in the town of Taji, it said, while a teenage boy was killed in the crossfire and a pregnant woman was wounded. | Ten insurgents died in a raid on a bomb-making factory in the town of Taji, it said, while a teenage boy was killed in the crossfire and a pregnant woman was wounded. |
US forces said they had discovered caches of rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns, pipe bombs and anti-aircraft weapons in the area. These were later destroyed in an air strike. | US forces said they had discovered caches of rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns, pipe bombs and anti-aircraft weapons in the area. These were later destroyed in an air strike. |
In another incident, US forces said they had killed 12 insurgents in a convoy of cars that ignored warning shots. | In another incident, US forces said they had killed 12 insurgents in a convoy of cars that ignored warning shots. |
Iraqi security services said they had killed more than 30 insurgents in a series of raids in Diyala province. | |
Earlier in the day, the bodies of 21 Iraqis were discovered in the same province, in a village about 80km (50 miles) north-east of Baghdad. | |
Police said gunmen had raided the homes of two Shia families, dragged out 21 males and shot them dead. It is thought the youngest victim was a 12-year-old boy. | |
In central Anbar province, a suicide car bomber attacked a checkpoint and killed three Iraqis, two of them children, and a US serviceman, the US military said. | |
Cycle of attacks | Cycle of attacks |
Meanwhile, leading Sunni cleric Harith al-Dhari, head of Iraq's Association of Muslim Scholars, called on Saturday for Arab countries to withdraw their recognition of the Iraqi government. | |
Mr Dhari, who spoke in Cairo, faces questioning if he returns to Iraq for allegedly inciting sectarian violence. | |
Earlier this week, at least 230 people were killed in two days of violence in Baghdad. | Earlier this week, at least 230 people were killed in two days of violence in Baghdad. |
Several blasts struck Sadr City in quick successionIn one incident, gunmen attacked Hurriya, a Sunni Arab area of Baghdad, burning mosques and homes, and at least 30 people were reported killed. | |
The attacks were in apparent revenge for Thursday's bombings that killed more than 200 people in the Shia Sadr City district. | |
There is a real feeling that the situation is moving to the brink amid the cycle of attacks, says the BBC's David Loyn in Baghdad. | There is a real feeling that the situation is moving to the brink amid the cycle of attacks, says the BBC's David Loyn in Baghdad. |
To add to the Iraqi government's woes, a key Shia group loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr threatened to quit parliament and the cabinet if the prime minister goes ahead with a planned meeting with US President George W Bush next week. | To add to the Iraqi government's woes, a key Shia group loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr threatened to quit parliament and the cabinet if the prime minister goes ahead with a planned meeting with US President George W Bush next week. |
The withdrawal of the group headed by Mr Sadr would deal a major blow to an already unstable government. | The withdrawal of the group headed by Mr Sadr would deal a major blow to an already unstable government. |
In a sermon on Friday, the young cleric appealed for Muslim unity, but also demanded that the leading religious figure from the Sunni minority issue a fatwa against al-Qaeda members. | In a sermon on Friday, the young cleric appealed for Muslim unity, but also demanded that the leading religious figure from the Sunni minority issue a fatwa against al-Qaeda members. |
Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia dominates the sprawling Sadr City slum in east Baghdad. | Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia dominates the sprawling Sadr City slum in east Baghdad. |
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. |