Death toll may top 100 in twin Iraqi bombings on Eid

By: Hamoud Kufi

IRBIL, Iraq: Two suicide bombers on Sunday struck the offices of two US-backed rival Kurdish parties in nearly simultaneous attacks as hundreds of Iraqis gathered to celebrate Eid-ol-Adha, or the feast of sacrifice.

One Kurdish minister said the death toll could exceed 100. The US command in Baghdad put the casualty toll at 56 dead and more than 200 were injured. Kurdish officials said more than 235 were wounded and 57 were dead and the count could go higher.

The attack was believed to be the deadliest since the August 29 car bombing outside the holy shrine of Imam Ali (p) in the holy city of Najaf martyred Ayatullah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim and more than 100 others as they emerged from Friday prayers.

It was also believed to have been the first in which the suicide attackers wired bombs to themselves and detonated them while on foot.

A spokesman for Polish-led international peacekeepers said about 20 Iraqis were also killed Sunday when they accidentally set off an explosion while looting a former Iraqi munitions dump in the Polish-controlled south-central region of the country, about 180 kilometers (112 miles) southwest of Karbala.

The suicide attacks at the Irbil offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan occurred as party leaders were receiving hundreds of visitors to mark the start of the Eid-ol-Adha. Security guards for both parties said they did not search people entering for the ceremony because of the tradition of receiving guests during the Eid festivities.

Meanwhile, US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz (pictured) made a surprise return to Iraq after a barrage of attacks ahead of Eid.

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