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Two held in Najaf blast suspected of al Qaeda linksU.N. 'remains engaged' in Iraq despite staff reductions
NAJAF, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi police have arrested two men believed to be Pakistanis -- with possible connections to al Qaeda -- who they suspect are tied to Friday's deadly car bombing at one of the Shiite Muslims' most revered mosques, the governor of Najaf said Saturday. Police launched a wide-ranging investigation in the hours after the explosion in Najaf killed 126 people, including a leading cleric. At least 12 people have been detained, Iraqi police said. It was not known if any of those detained had been charged in the bombing. The Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim, spiritual leader of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, was among the dead, Shiite officials said. They said more than 500 people were injured in the blast. (Profile: Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim) The bomb went off outside the Imam Ali Mosque as people were filing out of the building after noon prayers. Buildings 100 yards from the mosque showed extensive damage, and video revealed that part of the wall surrounding the front of the building had collapsed. However, the large mosque was largely intact. Shiite leader leaves governing councilThe blast at the Imam Ali Mosque and Hakim's death have outraged Iraq's Shiites, many of whom said the U.S- led Coalition Provisional Authority has not done enough to increase security in Iraq. Mohammed Baker al-Alum, a leading Shiite politician, announced Saturday that he was suspending his membership in the U.S.-appointed Iraq Governing Council in protest of the massacre at the Imam Ali Mosque. Earlier, thousands of people gathered in the main square outside the mosque, near the spot where the bomb exploded. (Shiites: Attack kills leader) (Gallery: Scenes from the aftermath) Shiites from Baghdad, Basra and other areas arrived by the truckload in Najaf overnight to participate in a three-day mourning period. (Map: Religious and ethnic groups in Iraq) At least 2,000 people crowded the streets of Baghdad on Saturday to protest the bombing. They made their way to the front of the U.S.-led coalition's headquarters, chanting slogans against the United States and the former Baath Party regime under Saddam Hussein. Several waved banners saying, "Yes to Islam, Yes to al Hawza," the theological institution that governs Shiite Muslims. An elaborate funeral procession is planned for Hakim once his remains are found. His bodyguards said only the cleric's ring, turban and watch have been found in the rubble. (Fears raised of sectarian violence) The procession is scheduled to begin Sunday in a Shiite neighborhood in the Iraqi capital, before it goes to Karbala the next day and then to Najaf on Tuesday. Funerals for many of the victims took place Saturday. (Shiites mourn bomb victims) The International Committee of the Red Cross said Saturday that it had sent medical and surgical supplies -- including antibiotics, burn treatment equipment, anesthetics, drugs, cotton and gauze -- to the Najaf Teaching Hospital to help medical workers there treat the wounded. Friday's bombing was the latest in a series of attacks on Shiite leaders. On Sunday, a bomb set at the home of Grand Ayatollah Mohamad Sa'eed al-Hakim, the cleric's uncle, killed three bodyguards and wounded 10 others. The grand ayatollah suffered minor injuries. (Shiites march to protest Sunday's attack) In April, just days after coalition forces captured Najaf, Sayed Abdul Majid al-Khoei returned from exile in London and was shot inside the mosque while attending a meeting attempting to reconcile rival Shiite factions. He was then dragged outside and stabbed to death. U.N.: Staff reduction 'temporary measure'The United Nations "remains engaged" in Iraq, a U.N. humanitarian official said Saturday, despite the announcement that it will greatly reduce its international staff in the country as a security precaution after last week's truck bombing at the Baghdad U.N. office that killed 23 people. "The United Nations remains engaged in Iraq, remains in full solidarity with the Iraqi people in this moment of need, remains available to find ways that you, the Iraqis, recover your full independence, your full sovereignty and the pride that makes you so unique," said Ramiro Lopez da Silva, the U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator for Iraq. Currently there are about 400 international U.N. staffers in Iraq -- about 110 of them in Baghdad. A U.N. spokesman in New York announced Friday that after the cuts, only about 40 to 50 essential staff members will remain in Baghdad. He called the reductions a "temporary measure." (Interactive: U.N. staff in the line of fire) (Final goodbye for de Mello) Northern Iraq, he said, will see a "sharp decrease in the number of international staff, and a relocation within the north to where people are safe." The spokesman called the reductions a "temporary measure." Iraqi pipeline burnsAn oil pipeline that was sabotaged two weeks ago caught fire again Saturday, U.S. military officials said. The pipeline fire began at 2:30 p.m. (6:30 a.m. EDT) near Al Safra village, about 37 miles (60 km) southwest of Kirkuk, said Lt. Col. Bill McDonald of the 4th Infantry Division, in Tikrit. The cause of blaze would be investigated, he said. The 48-inch diameter pipeline, called IT-18, links an oil field near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk with the Turkish port city of Ceyhan. Officials blamed saboteurs for another fire that broke out August 16, about 50 miles from Saturday's incident. (Full story) Other developments
• A U.S. soldier was killed and three wounded Friday morning in a rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms attack north of Baghdad, U.S. Central Command said. The attack on the soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division happened about around 9:15 a.m. (1:15 a.m. EDT) near Ba'qubah, about 30 miles [48 kilometers] northeast of the Iraqi capital, Central Command said. With the latest attack, 144 U.S. soldiers have been killed since President Bush declared the end of major combat May 1; 66 of those deaths were from hostile fire. • Alastair Campbell, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's communications director, announced Friday that he is resigning -- a week after giving evidence to an inquiry into the death of a government scientist. In a written statement, Campbell said he had intended to leave last summer but stayed on to oversee government communications during the war in Iraq. (Full story) • Attackers fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the Bulgarian military headquarters in Karbala, according to the commander in charge of Bulgarian forces, which took control of the area Tuesday. No one was wounded in the attack. (Full story) • The Bush administration is considering having a multinational force in Iraq to be sponsored by the United Nations under U.S. command, a senior State Department official said. The option, however, is one of several the administration is considering in its effort to have more countries contribute to the security effort in post-war Iraq, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said in a roundtable discussion with newspaper reporters. (Full story) Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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