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Bomb Near Iraqi Shrine Kills Scores

July 18, 2006 -- Over 50 people were today killed in the southern Iraqi city of Al-Kufah when a suicide bomber exploded a bomb in a crowded marketplace.

Witnesses and Iraqi officials say the bomber invited laborers into a minivan with the promise of jobs and then detonated the bomb. Over 100 people were wounded in the attack, which sparked clashes between police and protesters.

The blast occurred across the street from a Shi'ite shrine, the Al-Kufah mosque.

Al-Kufah is a Shi'ite religious center, 160 kilometers south of Baghdad.

Meanwhile, in the southern city of Al-Basrah, at least five Iraqis were killed in clashes with British troops, who are currently cracking down on Shi'ite militias in the city.

Also today, a roadside bomb in the northern town of Hawijah killed at least five policemen and injured several people, including civilians.

(Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org