32 killed in bombing at Iraq funeral

A SUICIDE bomber killed 32 mourners and injured dozens at a funeral for the nephew of a Shi'ite politician in Iraq yesterday.

It was just one of several attacks across Iraq that killed a total of 52 people - making it the deadliest day since the December 15 elections.

The increased violence came as Iraq's three major political parties were close to forming a coalition government that would include Shi'ites, Sunni Arabs and Kurds, according to a Shi'ite politician.

Iraq's election commission also planned to release the results of its investigation into almost 2,000 complaints stemming from last month's parliamentary elections, commission member Safwat Rashid said.

More than 100 mourners were standing in a cemetery in Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, for the burial of a nephew of Ahmed al-Bakka when the bomber struck, the Diyala provincial police said. The cemetery was strewn with body parts and the tombstones were stained with blood.

Al-Bakka had survived an assassination attempt Tuesday that killed his nephew. Al-Bakka is the head of the local Dawa party, led by Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and a main partner in the country's largest Shi'ite political coalition, the United Iraqi Alliance.

Shi'ites have been targeted by extremist Sunni groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq, led by Jordanian-born terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

A partner in the largest Sunni Arab political party denounced the attack.

"The Islamic Party condemns such ugly acts that are aimed at dividing the country," said Nassir al-Ani.

In other violence, a car bomb exploded near an outdoor market in Baghdad's southern Dora district, killing seven people and wounding 15, police said.

Another car bomb in northern Baghdad killed three civilians and a policeman, and wounded 13, said Major Mosa Abdelkareem.

A roadside bomb targeting a US patrol in Kirkuk hit a civilian car instead, killing three passengers.

In the capital, gunmen in separate incidents killed a former army captain and fired on the car of an oil ministry employee, killing the man and his son.

Gunmen in Mosul attacked the political offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, killing a civilian. A roadside bomb in Baqouba killed a woman.

In Aziziyah, gunmen fired on a police patrol, killing one policeman.