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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
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| Car bomb explodes in Iraqi city | Car bomb explodes in Iraqi city |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| At least 16 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a suicide car bomb attack in the southern Iraqi town of Kufa, officials said. | At least 16 people have been killed and dozens wounded in a suicide car bomb attack in the southern Iraqi town of Kufa, officials said. |
| The explosion destroyed a restaurant and severely damaged shops in an open-air market, about 400m from the town's main mosque. | The explosion destroyed a restaurant and severely damaged shops in an open-air market, about 400m from the town's main mosque. |
| Kufa, a centre of Shia Muslim pilgrimage, is a large town 170km (110 miles) south of the capital, Baghdad. | Kufa, a centre of Shia Muslim pilgrimage, is a large town 170km (110 miles) south of the capital, Baghdad. |
| Last month, more than 70 people died in a car bombing in nearby Karbala. | Last month, more than 70 people died in a car bombing in nearby Karbala. |
| Tuesday's attack was the latest in a series of attacks on predominantly Shia areas south of Baghdad apparently aimed at increasing sectarian tensions. | Tuesday's attack was the latest in a series of attacks on predominantly Shia areas south of Baghdad apparently aimed at increasing sectarian tensions. |
| The BBC's James Shaw in Baghdad says Kufa has not previously suffered as much violence as neighbouring Shia cities because it is a key powerbase of radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr and is therefore well defended by his powerful militia, the Mahdi Army. | |
| Mr Sadr, meanwhile, published a list of what he called rogue elements in the Mahdi Army, who he said were using violence to stir up sectarian strife. | |
| Lawmakers loyal to him said these elements were acting on behalf of external political forces. Iran denies US accusations it is aiding Mahdi Army fighters. | |
| 'Pools of blood' | 'Pools of blood' |
| In Kufa, the suicide bomber drove his vehicle into the crowded market, pulling up outside a two-storey restaurant popular with Shia pilgrims, witnesses said. | |
| "He tried to park the vehicle and then it exploded," Mohan Ali told Reuters. "There were many bodies." | |
| The blast destroyed the restaurant, blowing out the windows, knocking over tables and scattering body parts. | The blast destroyed the restaurant, blowing out the windows, knocking over tables and scattering body parts. |
| "At least five or six people were killed inside the restaurant," the owner, Ali al-Hamadani, said. "There are pools of blood on the floor." | "At least five or six people were killed inside the restaurant," the owner, Ali al-Hamadani, said. "There are pools of blood on the floor." |
| A crowd gathered at the scene of the attack afterwards and began chanting "No, No, America!" | A crowd gathered at the scene of the attack afterwards and began chanting "No, No, America!" |
| A car bombing in Kufa in December killed 31 people and injured 45. | A car bombing in Kufa in December killed 31 people and injured 45. |
| Sunni mosque | |
| In Baghdad, meanwhile, a Sunni group said that the security forces had ordered the closure of a Sunni mosque in the mainly Shia Bayaa district and detained the mosque's four guards. | |
| An Iraqi military spokesman said troops had arrested four men who had been firing at citizens from the mosque. | |
| The Sunni group, the Iraqi Islamic Party, said the mosque had been repeatedly attacked by Shia fighters in recent weeks. |