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Al-Qaeda prime suspect: U.S.

Atul Aneja

Shia areas in Baghdad become vulnerable to attacks

DUBAI: There has been a fresh assault on Iraqi Shias, a day after four bomb blasts killed 190 persons in Baghdad.

A suicide car bombing on Thursday killed 12 persons in the Shia dominated Jadriyah district in Baghdad. The explosion set ablaze a nearby truck packed with gas cylinders. The dead included two policemen, while four were also wounded.

Grieving relatives visited mortuaries on Thursday to identify their loved ones and take the bodies. Most of the victims of Wednesday's bombings had been taken to the city's Imam Ali hospital.

U.S. military spokesman William Caldwell said the Al-Qaeda in Iraq was the prime suspect for Wednesday's attacks. "Initial indications based on intelligence sources show that it [the group] was linked to Al-Qaeda," he said.

Chinks in security plan

Mr. Gates is in Baghdad to take stock of the situation in Iraq first hand. Prior to his arrival, he said the American commitment to a troop build in Iraq should not be taken for granted.

Shia strongholds in the Iraqi capital have become vulnerable to attacks by Sunni extremist groups after Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his Mehdi army supporters off the streets. He took this decision after the combined American and Iraqi forces launched a fresh crackdown against militants in February.

However, the surge in recent violence has exposed limitations of the two-month old security plan.

In the past one week, there has been a suicide bombing inside Parliament. An explosion triggered the collapse of the famous bridge across the Tigris river. A larger number of dead bodies have been appearing on the streets of Baghdad.

Responding to the Wednesday's carnage, Prime Minister al-Maliki has ordered the arrest of the officer responsible for the security of the Sadriyah market. The explosion at this market on Wednesday was the deadliest, leading to the deaths of 140 persons.

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