Bomber kills 49 in Iraq

A female suicide bomber struck Shiite worshippers in the holy city of Karbala on Monday, an official and a witness said, killing at least 49 people and leaving pools of blood on the street leading to one of Iraq’s most revered mosques.

The blast was the deadliest in a series of attacks that left at least 78 Iraqis dead, including six youths killed when mortar rounds slammed into a soccer field in eastern Baghdad. Two United States soldiers also were killed on Monday in a roadside bombing north of Baghdad, bringing the American death toll closer to 4 000 as the US-led war enters its sixth year.At least 3 990 members of the US military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.The violence marred overlapping trips by Vice President Dick Cheney and Senator John McCain to Baghdad.Their visits were aimed at touting recent security gains and stressing Washington’s long-term commitment to fighting insurgents in Iraq.The US Embassy and military issued a joint statement blaming al-Qaeda in Iraq for the Karbala attack.The bomber struck after the worshippers had gathered at a sacred historical site about half a mile from the golden domed shrine of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad who was killed in a seventh-century battle.A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to release the information, said the attacker was a woman – as did a witness.AP Television News footage showed a man carefully picking up pieces of flesh and wires apparently from a fuse as evening prayer services were broadcast from loudspeakers nearby.The witness, who did not identify himself, told AP Television News that a woman in the crowd had blown herself up.Female suicide bombers have been involved in at least 20 attacks or attempted attacks since the war began, including the grisly bombings of two pet markets in Baghdad that killed nearly 100 people last month.Nampa-APTwo United States soldiers also were killed on Monday in a roadside bombing north of Baghdad, bringing the American death toll closer to 4 000 as the US-led war enters its sixth year.At least 3 990 members of the US military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.The violence marred overlapping trips by Vice President Dick Cheney and Senator John McCain to Baghdad.Their visits were aimed at touting recent security gains and stressing Washington’s long-term commitment to fighting insurgents in Iraq.The US Embassy and military issued a joint statement blaming al-Qaeda in Iraq for the Karbala attack.The bomber struck after the worshippers had gathered at a sacred historical site about half a mile from the golden domed shrine of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad who was killed in a seventh-century battle.A police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to release the information, said the attacker was a woman – as did a witness.AP Television News footage showed a man carefully picking up pieces of flesh and wires apparently from a fuse as evening prayer services were broadcast from loudspeakers nearby.The witness, who did not identify himself, told AP Television News that a woman in the crowd had blown herself up.Female suicide bombers have been involved in at least 20 attacks or attempted attacks since the war began, including the grisly bombings of two pet markets in Baghdad that killed nearly 100 people last month.Nampa-AP