Al-Qaeda linked with Shiite shrine bombing
Nineteen men have been arrested by Iraqi police in connection with the deadly car bombing outside a mosque in Iraq, according to reports.
They have all been linked with Osama bin Laden’s outlawed terror group al-Qaeda.
The 1550 pounds car bomb took the lives of 107 people during Friday prayers at the shrine of the Imam Ali in the city of Najaf, Iraq, on Friday.
Two Iraqis and two Saudis of the extremist Wahabi sect of Islam were arrested shortly after the car bombing. They reportedly gave the names of the other suspects.
Two Kuwaitis, six Palestinians with Jordanian passports were among Iraqis and Saudis also under arrest.
Among the dead was a Shiite Muslim political leader.
Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim was the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution, a group working with allied forces to rebuild the war torn country in post-Saddam Iraq.
US President Bush denounced the bombing as a “vicious act of terrorism.”
“This is a heinous crime against the Iraqi people and the international community,” Secretary of State Colin Powell said in a statement.
“We will not be deterred by such unacceptable and immoral acts. The international community must renew its commitment to working with the majority of the Iraqi people who seek to build a free and stable country.
“We and the coalition will make every effort to assist the Iraqi people in the investigation of this brutal attack and do our utmost to bring those responsible to justice,” he added.
Meanwhile, an oil pipeline has been set ablaze near the northern village of Al Safrah.
Al-Qaeda is suspected of the sabotage.
