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iuicide bombers kill more than 50
it Kurdish offices in northern Iraq
By Scheherezade Faramarzi
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
IRBIL, Iraq — Two suicide bombers with
| e ® aBl Bxpl 0S i VeS wired to their bodies struck the offices
r ’ If the country’s two main Kurdish parties in near-
simultaneous attacks Sunday, killing at least 56
lUUlMeople an d wounding more than 235 in the dead-
■est assault in Iraq in six months,
ackt The attacks struck in the Kurdish heartland and
»ok a heavy toll among senior leaders of Iraq's
iliost pro-American ethnic group.
I Elsewhere, an American soldier was killed, and
■2 were wounded in a rocket attack on a logistics
Base in Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad, the U.S.
Bommand said. The death raised the number of
.S. service members to 523 who have died since
e Iraq conflict began in March.
The Irbil attackers slipped into the offices of
|ie Kurdistan Democratic Party, and the Patriotic
Jnion of Kurdistan along with hundreds of well-
ishers gathering for the Muslim holiday of Eid
1-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice.
Kurdish television said both bombers were
ressed as Muslim clerics.
Leaders of both parties, whose militias fought
longside U.S. soldiers during the invasion of Iraq
ist year, were receiving hundreds of visitors to
ark the start of the four-day holiday when the
lasts went off.
Guards said they did not search people because
fthe tradition of receiving guests during the hol-
ay. Neither party’s top leader — Jalal Talabani
f the PUK and Massoud Barzani of the KDP —
as in Irbil when the attacks occurred.
Although Iraq has suffered numerous suicide
mbings in recent months, the attack Sunday
larked the first time perpetrators have worn
xplosives rather than using vehicles.
Sunday’s blasts came a day after a car bomb
utside a police station in the northern city of
losul killed at least nine people. Hours later, a
ortar attack hit a Baghdad neighborhood, killing
ive people and wounding four.
U.S. officials said foreign militants or Ansar al-
slam, an al-Qaida-linked Islamic militant group
ased in the north that has frequently clashed with
he Kurds, may have carried out the attacks. There
as no immediate claim of responsibility.
"We have no proof at this point (about who is
esponsible). It could be Ansar al-Islam. It could
e al-Qaida. It could be any of a number of foreign
errorist groups operating in Iraq,” said U.S. Brig.
3en. Mark Kimmitt, coalition deputy chief of staff
or operations.
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Suicide bombers kill more than 50
Two suicide bombers with explosives wired to their bodies struck
the offices of the country's two main Kurdish parties in Irbil killing
56 people. There were other deadly explosions in war torn Iraq
Irbil
Suicide bombers
entered the
offices of the
Kurdistan
Democratic
Party and the
Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan where
hundreds
gathered lor the
Muslim holiday,
the Feast of
Sacrifice.
Balad
An American
soldier was killed
and 12 were
wounded in a
rocket attack on
a logistics base
north of
Baghdad
Karbala
Six Iraqis were
killed when they
accidentally set
oft an explosive
while looting a
former Iraqi
munitions dump.
SOURCES: Associated Press; ESRI AF
U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer pledged
to work with Iraqi security forces to capture
those behind Sunday’s bombings. The attackers
“are seeking to halt Iraq’s progress on the path
to sovereignty and democracy,” Bremer said in
a statement.
In statements, the leaders of both parties, once
bitter rivals, expressed their resolve to fight terror
ism together.
“These terrorist acts are against the Islamic
religion and humanity and we shall work more
seriously toward uniting our (Kurdish) govern
ment,” Talabani said. “We will work together in
order to live in a democratic, federal Iraq.”
No matter who was behind them, the blasts
may heighten tensions between the Kurds and
Sunni Arabs. As U.S. and Iraqi leaders try to
map out the country’s new form of government,
some Arabs have sharply opposed Kurdish
demands to retain or even expand their self-rule
region in the north.
Hours after the attack, a mangled head believed
to be that of one bomber lay on the floor of the
KDP office. Blood and bits of flesh were spattered
on the walls and ceilings. The attack on the PUK
office, about eight miles away, took place at about
the same time.
The U.S. command in Baghdad put the casual
ty toll at 56 dead and more than 200 injured. Irbil
city morgue director Tawana Kareem told the AP
that 57 bodies were brought to the morgue and
“figures are increasing.” At least 235 people were
admitted to the city’s three hospitals with injuries,
hospital officials said.
Officials said the death toll may be far higher,
with some bodies buried in the rubble or taken
away by relatives.
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The Center for New Ventures A
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honors 52 students who demonstrate high INVOLVEMENT, create positive EXPERIENCES throughout
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Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center Reception Desk
Office of the President, 8th Floor Rudder
Vice Pres, for Student Affairs Office, 10th Floor Rudder
Office of the Dean of each College
Office of Graduate Studies
Department of Student Activities, Suite 125 Koldus
Department of Multicultural Services, Suite 137 MSC
Office of the Commandant, 102 Military Sciences
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Applications due by 5:00 pm
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Tuesday, January 27
5 30-6:30 pm
Koldus Building
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Thursday, January 29
6:00-7:00 pm
The Association of Former Students
Lecture A
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Monday, February 2
7:00-8:00 pm
Rudder Tower
Room 404
Impact
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Wednesday, February 4
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The Association of Former Students
Lecture A
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Monday, February 2 • 7 pm • 302 Rudder
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INFO SESSION:
Tuesday, February 3 • 7 pm • 110 Koldus
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MULTICULTURAL NETWORKING RECEPTION:
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