BAGHDAD — A truck bomb exploded as worshippers left a Shiite mosque in northern Iraq today, killing at least 70 people and wounding nearly 200 in the deadliest bombing in nearly two months.
The blast near Kirkuk — a city rife with ethnic tensions — came hours after the prime minister insisted U.S. troops will leave Iraqi cities by the end of this month “no matter what happens,” but acknowledged more violence was likely.
The Americans already have begun withdrawing combat troops from inner-city outposts in Baghdad, Mosul and other urban areas ahead of the June 30 deadline. But continued assassinations and high-profile explosions have heightened concerns that Iraqi forces are not ready to take over their own security.
Worshippers were leaving the mosque in Taza, 10 miles south of Kirkuk, after noon prayers when the truck exploded, demolishing the mosque and several mud-brick houses across the street, according to police and witnesses.
Rescue teams searched for hours to find people buried under the rubble while women begged police to let them near the site so they could search for loved ones. The U.S. military said it was providing generator lights and water at the site.
Ambulances rushed victims to the overwhelmed hospital in Kirkuk and some victims had to be taken to hospitals in nearby cities
Witnesses said the truck was parked across the street from the mosque and they assumed the driver was praying, although Kirkuk’s police chief, Maj. Gen. Jamal Tahir, said investigators were looking into the possibility it was a suicide bombing.
“The truck was parked near our house; therefore most of the victims were found beneath the debris of the houses, mostly women and children,” said Ehsan Mushir Shukur, whose sister was seriously wounded.
He said his wife was also wounded while his sister’s young son and daughter were killed.
Yellman Zain-Abideen, who was wounded by shrapnel in his hand and face, cried for his missing son who had been leaving the mosque with him when the blast occurred.
The 43-year-old father of four blamed local authorities for not providing sufficient security in the mainly Turkomen area, which is surrounded by Sunni villages.
“There should have been guards around the mosque, we are living in an area surrounded by enemies,” he said.
Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack, but it bore the hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq or other Sunni insurgents who remain active in northern Iraq despite security gains.
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