BAGHDAD — A truck bomb packed with explosives hidden under appliances struck a Shiite mosque yesterday in central Baghdad, killing at least 78 people, even as about 10,000 US soldiers northeast of the capital used heavily armored fighting vehicles to battle their way into an Al-Qaeda sanctuary.
The thunderous explosion at the Khulani Mosque in the capital’s busy commercial area of Sinak sent smoke billowing over concrete buildings, nearly a week after a bombing brought down the twin minarets of Askaria Mosque in the northern city of Samarra and two days after officials lifted a curfew aimed at preventing retaliatory violence after that attack. Gunfire erupted shortly after the blast, which police said occurred in a parking lot near the mosque, causing the outer wall and a building just inside it to crumble.
Police and hospital officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they feared retribution, said at least 78 people were killed and 218 were wounded, adding that the toll could rise as bodies were pulled from the debris.
One officer said the explosives-packed truck was loaded with fans and air coolers to avoid arousing the suspicions of security forces guarding the surrounding area, which is full of shops selling electrical appliances.
Six of those killed lived in a house behind the mosque that also collapsed, the officer said, adding that 20 cars were burned and 25 shops were damaged in the explosion.
Meanwhile, the US raids took place in Baquba, the capital of Diyala province, and involved air assaults under the cover of darkness. The troops killed at least 22 insurgents in the offensive, the US military said.
The commander of Iraqi military operations in Diyala, Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Al-Rubaie, said torture implements had been seized from militant safe houses in the area.
