A look at Wednesday's developments in Iraq
By Associated Press, 3/3/2004 14:58
A look at major developments Wednesday in Iraq:
Iraq Governing Council President Mohammed Bahr al-Ulloum said 271 people were killed and 393 wounded in Tuesday's near-simultaneous bombings at Baghdad's Kazimiya shrine and holy sites in Karbala. U.S. officials, however, put the combined death toll at 117.
Shiite Muslim clerics joined Sunni preachers in a march through Baghdad, a display of unity after the attacks on Shiite pilgrims. In Karbala, Shiite mourners chanted slogans against the United States, venting their anger at Iraq's instability.
Officials said 15 people, some possibly Iranians, were detained in Tuesday's attacks.
A letter purported to come from al-Qaida denied responsibility for the bombings, blaming American troops instead but it also called Shiites infidels.
American forces have intelligence connecting the bombings to Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a militant linked to al-Qaida, said the U.S. military commander in the Middle East, Gen. John Abizaid.
Abizaid said Americans can expect more casualties in Iraq as extremists try to derail the transfer of authority and security responsibilities to a new government.
U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer said it was ''increasingly apparent'' that a large part of terrorism comes from outside Iraq. He pledged to increase controls of Iraq's borders.
Insurgents launched four mortars at the 4th Infantry Division's base in Tikrit, including one that landed near a dining hall during supper time. No one was hurt.
An interim constitution drafted by Iraq's leading politicians and the U.S.-led administration will be signed Friday, at the close of a three-day period of mourning for Shiite bombing victims, said the head of Iraq's Governing Council.
Three rockets hit a telephone exchange building in Baghdad, knocking out international phone service for much of the country only days after the system was put back in service. One Iraqi worker was killed and another injured, Iraqi officials said.
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