2 die, 9 hurt in mosque blast

2004-06-07 16:55

Kufa - Two Iraqis were killed and at least nine wounded when a weapons cache used by militiamen loyal to Shiite radical leader Moqtada Sadr exploded and caught fire inside Kufa's Great Mosque compound on Monday, said witnesses, medical sources and the United States military.

Most witnesses said a rocket hit the ammunition depot near the mosque used by Sadr's Mehdi army militiamen, causing the dump to blow up.

The Great Mosque in this holy Shiite city south of Baghdad is where Sadr delivers his Friday sermons. Its surroundings have seen violent clashes between his militiamen and US troops in the past two months.

A doctor at Mohammad Baqr al-Hakim Hospital put the death toll at two, while the nearby Furat al-Wasat Hospital put the wounded at nine Iraqis, but did not specify whether they were gunmen or civilians.

Helpers fired on

"There was an explosion at the Great Mosque about 11:30. I heard the sound of a rocket land in the ammunition storage inside the mosque," said Abu Ahmed, a member of Sadr's Mehdi army militia, outside the compound.

A statement by the US military confirmed an explosion had taken place and that part of the mosque was on fire.

"Subsequent reports indicate Iraqi police attempted to investigate the area and render help, but were fired upon by Moqtada al-Sadr's militia from the Kufa Mosque area," the statement said, emphasising that no US troops were present at the time of the blast.

"This demonstrates al-Sadr's complete disregard for holy sites because a weapons cache belonging to his militia that was stored there caused the explosion and fire," the statement added.

Ambulances went to the scene to evacuate the wounded from the shrine, built on hallowed ground where one of the founders of the Shiite faith, Ali, was assassinated in 661AD.

Mehdi army wouldn't allow helpers in

"It started about 11:00 am and there were several explosions. It took nine fire engines, but the fire was under control by 13:30, quot; said fire commissioner Haidar al-Amily.

"The Mehdi army in the mosque would not let us anywhere inside the compound, but it would have been more dangerous anyway because of the explosions," he said.

Police lieutenant Abbas Abdel Mahdi said "two walls of the mosque have been completely blackened".

Although it remained unclear whether the blast was a result of an attack, the explosion shook the latest truce efforts aimed at putting an end to two months of deadly fighting between US forces and Sadr's militia around Kufa and the adjacent holy city of Najaf.

- AFP