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Bombers kill 65 at two mosques in Iraq
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-18 23:09
At first, the target appeared to be an Interior Ministry building where U.S.
troops on Sunday found about 170 detainees, some of whom appeared to have been
tortured.
Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal, the deputy interior minister, said initial reports
indicated that "the first car bomber was trying to pave the way for the second
one ... to get in and hit the Hamra Hotel, not the Interior Ministry."
Also on Friday, insurgents attacked U.S. and Iraqi troops in western Iraq,
setting off gunbattles that killed 32 insurgents, a U.S. military statement
said.
One Marine and an Iraqi soldier suffered minor injuries during the attack,
the U.S. forces said. Most of the fighting took place around the a mosque in the
center of the town.
"Marines reported that they received sustained small arms fire originating
from the mosque," the statement said. "A nearby U.S. Army outpost also reported
receiving enemy fire from the area surrounding the mosque."
The U.S. forces estimated that at least 50 insurgents took part in the
coordinated attack, which quickly dissipated when the Iraqi and U.S. forces
returned fire, the military said. Iraqi troops entered the mosque and found
spent ammunition.
Also Friday, the top U.N. human rights official called for an international
investigation into the conditions of detainees in Iraq following the alleged
abuse of those found at the Interior Ministry building.
"In light of the apparently systemic nature and magnitude of that problem,
and the importance of public confidence in any inquiry, I urge authorities to
consider calling for an international inquiry," said Louise Arbour, the U.N.
High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Prominent Sunni Arabs have complained for months about
abuse by Interior Ministry forces, whom they claim have been infiltrated by
Shiite militias. The Sunnis called for an international investigation after the
Jadriyah detainees were found.
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