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Iraq bombs hit Sunni stronghold | Iraq bombs hit Sunni stronghold |
(10 minutes later) | |
A double bombing in Baghdad has killed at least 14 people, including the head of a US-backed armed group which fights al-Qaeda in Sunni Muslim areas. | A double bombing in Baghdad has killed at least 14 people, including the head of a US-backed armed group which fights al-Qaeda in Sunni Muslim areas. |
Police say a suicide bomber struck at the entrance of the Sunni Endowment, or Waqf, office in Adhamiya district. | Police say a suicide bomber struck at the entrance of the Sunni Endowment, or Waqf, office in Adhamiya district. |
A second suicide attacker set off a car bomb a few metres away as people fled from the scene of the first explosion. | A second suicide attacker set off a car bomb a few metres away as people fled from the scene of the first explosion. |
Riyadh Samarrai, leader of the Adhamiya Awakening group, also a Waqf employee, was killed along with his son. | Riyadh Samarrai, leader of the Adhamiya Awakening group, also a Waqf employee, was killed along with his son. |
The attacker is believed to be from among the more hardline Sunni insurgents who do not want reconciliation in Iraq, the BBC's Humphrey Hawksley reports. | The attacker is believed to be from among the more hardline Sunni insurgents who do not want reconciliation in Iraq, the BBC's Humphrey Hawksley reports. |
Other bombs killed at least five people in Baghdad on Monday. | Other bombs killed at least five people in Baghdad on Monday. |
'Bomber's embrace' | 'Bomber's embrace' |
One of Mr Samarrai's bodyguards told reporters the suicide bomber had walked up to the former police colonel and embraced him before detonating his explosives. | One of Mr Samarrai's bodyguards told reporters the suicide bomber had walked up to the former police colonel and embraced him before detonating his explosives. |
A man injured in the double bomb attack in Baghdad on 7 January is taken to an ambulance | A man injured in the double bomb attack in Baghdad on 7 January is taken to an ambulance |
At least 18 people were also injured in the twin attack. | At least 18 people were also injured in the twin attack. |
Mr Samarrai's coffin was carried through the streets of Adhamiya to Iraq's most revered Sunni shrine, the Abu Hanifa mosque, as chanting mourners followed. | |
"The martyrdom of the colonel is an inspiration to us now," Abu Firas, another senior member of the Waqf, was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency. | |
"All of us will become Colonel Riyadhs." | |
US-backed "awakening councils", made up of insurgent fighters who turned against al-Qaeda extremists, have been credited with helping reduce violence across Iraq's Sunni Arab areas. | US-backed "awakening councils", made up of insurgent fighters who turned against al-Qaeda extremists, have been credited with helping reduce violence across Iraq's Sunni Arab areas. |
But correspondents say their offices and checkpoints are themselves becoming targets of pro-al-Qaeda bombers. | But correspondents say their offices and checkpoints are themselves becoming targets of pro-al-Qaeda bombers. |
After the overthrow of Saddam Hussein it was a centre of anti-US resistance until the "awakenings" initiative in 2006 to counter al-Qaeda, which many Sunnis rejected for fomenting sectarian strife. | After the overthrow of Saddam Hussein it was a centre of anti-US resistance until the "awakenings" initiative in 2006 to counter al-Qaeda, which many Sunnis rejected for fomenting sectarian strife. |