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Iraq blasts: death toll rises to 202

Atul Aneja

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki urged not to meet U.S. President in Jordan

— Photo: AFP

IN GRIEF: Iraqis mourn over the coffin of their relative in Sadr City, Baghdad, on Friday. Four car bombs killed 202 people and wounded 256 on Thursday in the Shia bastion, triggering fears of widespread Shia reprisals against Sunni Arabs.

DUBAI: The death toll resulting from a wave of car bombings on Thursday in a Shia stronghold of Baghdad has risen to 202, as relatives began preparations to bury the dead.

Funeral processions were heading towards Najaf, the traditional burial site for Shias.

Anguished mourners wept beside the vehicles, which were carrying the coffins. The carnage took place after car bombs exploded within a space of 30 minutes in two markets and a prominent square in Sadr City.

Apprehending retaliation against Sunnis, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the top Shia spiritual leader in Iraq, appealed for calm.

One of his officials was quoted as saying that Ayatollah Sistani has "urged people not to react illegally and maintain self-restraint and calm."

Followers of Moqtada al-Sadr, the Shia cleric who has wide support in Sadr City, attributed the violence to the American occupation of Iraq.

Qusai Abdul-Wahab, a follower of Mr. Al-Sadr, said in a statement that U.S. forces were responsible for Thursday's bombings.

He called for the "withdrawal of occupation forces or setting a timetable for their withdrawal." Keeping the focus on the Americans, Mr. Al-Sadr urged Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki not to meet U.S. President George Bush in Amman next week.

The cleric threatened to suspend support for Mr. Maliki's Government if this meeting materialised.

Mr. Bush and his Iraqi counterpart are expected to meet in the Jordanian capital on either Wednesday or Thursday. Less than 24 hours after the bombings in Sadr City, two bombs exploded in the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar, killing at least 22 persons and wounding 26.

Meanwhile, curfew has been imposed in Baghdad and the city's airport has been closed. Operations at the Basra port and the airport have also been suspended.

An AP report said Shia militiamen grabbed six Sunnis as they left Friday worship services, doused them with kerosene and burnt them alive near an Iraqi army post.

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