Six killed in bike bomb attack on mosque

A BICYCLE bomb killed six people as they prayed at a crowded Shi’ite mosque in central Iraq yesterday, underscoring the threat of religious conflict in a country already racked by an anti-coalition insurgency.

In Baghdad, guerrillas fired rockets at dawn into a hotel used by Westerners and hundreds of US troops stormed houses and shops in Tikrit overnight in the hope of capturing those behind a wave of such attacks.

In Baquba, 40 miles north of Baghdad, unknown attackers strapped a gas cylinder packed with explosives to a bicycle and left it outside a small Shi'ite mosque close to people praying on the pavement because of lack of space inside.

"At the end of prayers, it exploded," said Iraqi police sergeant Haki Ismail Mustafa. Officials at a nearby hospital said at least 39 people were injured.

Baquba sits in a largely Sunni Muslim area and is a hotbed of resistance.

Shi'ites make up about 60% of Iraq's 26 million people but were largely excluded from power under Saddam Hussein, a Sunni. There has been tension between the two communities as they jockey for power post-Saddam and many fear an eruption of full-blown religious conflict.

A car bomb attack in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf in August killed more than 80 people, including one of the most senior Shi'ite leaders.

The Najaf assailants have not been identified but there have been whispers among Shi'ites that it was the work of Sunni radicals. Subsequent attacks on Sunni mosques were blamed on Shi'ite militants.

Three rockets hit the Burj al-Hayat hotel in central Baghdad, used by Western businessmen and US military contractors, but no one was hurt.

"Three men driving in a car hit the hotel with rockets, smashing windows and the wall of the hotel," said security guard Mishar Muhammed Ismail.

In Tikrit, Saddam's home town, US troops raided houses in the hope of rounding up insurgents.

About 300 soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division searched for suspects, weapons and other incriminating material.

"It was a good night," Lt Col Steven Russell told reporters after about 30 people were taken into custody. "Tikrit will be a safer place as a result."