Bomb explosion at Shi'ite shrine in Iraq kills at least 13

NAJAF, Iraq -- Bombs packed inside a minibus exploded yesterday outside one of the holiest shrines in Shi'ite Islam, shattering ancient tombs and enveloping pilgrims in balls of flame.

The attack near the Imam Ali shrine here in the southern city of Najaf killed at least 13 people, police said. Striking at the heart of territory dominated by Iraq's Shi'ite religious parties, it also risked a new cycle of Sunni-Shi'ite violence.

Tensions still are roiling from the Feb. 22 bombing of another Shi'ite shrine in Samarra, which sparked the deadliest sectarian bloodletting since the 2003 US-led invasion. More than 1,000 Iraqs have been killed in retaliatory violence, and the UN-affiliated Organization for International Migration reported tens of thousands driven from their homes.

The precise target of the attack was not clear. Besides pilgrims, hundreds of political demonstrators had gathered at the shrine for the latest in a series of demonstrations in Najaf on behalf of Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

Major Emad Muhammad, Najaf police patrol chief, said he believed the bomb targeted the demonstration for Jaafari. Police had blocked entrances to the old city of Najaf, which includes the shrine, for fear of attack on what Muhammad said were more than 1,000 demonstrators.

The suicide attacker was able to move within 150 yards of the shrine by taking a shortcut through the miles-wide Shi'ite graveyard adjoining the holy site, Muhammad said.

The Najaf shrine attracts Shi'ite pilgrims from neighboring Iran and around the world, and Shi'ites from Iraq and abroad ship their loved ones' remains for burial at the cemetery. The minibus carrying the bombs was parked among buses that ferry pilgrims and minibuses used to transport coffins.

The blast burned the pilgrims' buses to thin metal frames pocked with flesh, muscle and bone. Women struggled with Iraqi soldiers at the scene, trying to push past them to find out if their sons were among the dead.

Most of the victims were immolated, said Naseer Ali, an official at the Najaf health directorate.

The blast also shattered some of the brick tombs just inside the graveyard. No security forces were among the casualties. ''Today's terrorist attack hit only civilians," Hasan Abtan, Najaf's deputy governor, said by telephone.

Authorities shut down entrances to the city and imposed a curfew. Dozens of traffic police appeared at intersections throughout the city, waving emergency vehicles to the scene of the attack.

The shrine contains the tomb of Imam Ali, the son-in-law of the prophet Mohammed. Shi'ites believe Ali to have been the prophet's heir. Authorities said the shrine was not damaged.

Najaf is a base of at least two of the increasingly rivalrous Shi'ite religious parties now governing Iraq, including that of militant cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Sadr in recent weeks has become the last major supporter of Jaafari, whose nomination to remain as prime minister in Iraq's next government is opposed by a growing number of critics who describe him as an ineffective and polarizing figure.

Jaafari continued to refuse to step down, insisting that he is the Shi'ites' legitimate nominee. ''I am defending democracy. I will adhere to the results of democracy," he said at a news conference.

Sadr's camp remained equally adamant. ''We will stick to the end with the candidate of the alliance and we are not bargaining," said Riyadh Nouri, head of the political committee of Sadr's bloc.

In violence targeting another heavily guarded city, a suicide car bomb exploded Wednesday night at a US and Iraqi military checkpoint leading into the western city of Fallujah, killing 10 civilians and wounding three Iraqi soldiers.

Since US forces waged a major assault on the city in November 2004 in an attempt to drive out insurgents, Fallujah has been largely sealed off to prevent them from returning. But despite the well-guarded checkpoints on the few access roads into the city, armed groups have maintained a presence there.