Saudi Arabia yesterday challenged those who claimed its citizens were involved in the bomb attack in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf to produce the evidence. "Some sources in Iraq have said that Saudi citizens were involved in the terrorist incident which claimed the life of (prominent cleric and politician) Mohammad Baqer Al Hakim," a foreign ministry spokesman said, quoted by the official SPA news agency. "These sources did not present any proof for their claims. The government of Saudi Arabia hopes these sources will reveal the information they have and pass it on to the government of the kingdom instead of making unsubstantiated allegations."
| "Nope. Nope. Wudn't us..." |
The statement followed claims that at least two Saudis were among 19 people detained in connection with Friday's car bombing in Najaf which killed Hakim and 95 others outside a mosque. Meanwhile, a local governor said up to five suspects, all of them Iraqi, have been detained over the car bomb attack. "There are several suspects, none of whom has citizenship other than Iraqi," Haidar Al Mayyali, the governor of the Najaf area, said. "The number of those now arrested is not greater than the number of fingers on one hand."
| Either the data are conflicting, or he's got at least 19 fingers on one hand... |
Mayyali said the official death toll now stood at 83 while 175 people had been wounded. Hospital officials have said at least 95 were killed. He said the attackers had links to the power structure of ousted president Saddam Hussein. Earlier, the Najaf-based Hawza, the top Shi'ite religious authority in Iraq, issued a warning to radical Sunni Muslims following the arrest of the suspects.
| "Yar! We're warnin' youse infidel bastards!" |
Elsewhere, Iraqi authorities are searching for three cars laden with explosives believed to have entered Najaf. "We received information that three car bombs had entered Najaf and we are searching them," Major Tariq Jamel said.
| "Like we really need three more car bombs right now..." |
Iraqi police also arrested a man in connection with the massacre and said they had now made a total of 19 arrests after the blast.
| I'll bet that guy plays a mean piano, with 19 fingers. Wonder if he's got that many on the other hand, too? |
They found poison in the man's pockets, an officer said, and brought him to Najaf.
| I guess if it's lethal, the Bad Guys like it. Guns, bombs, poison... |
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will investigate links between the Najaf bomb massacre and deadly attacks on the UN's Baghdad headquarters and Jordan's embassy, the top FBI agent in Iraq said. "We'll be obtaining samples if we can of the explosives used (in Najaf) and will be submitting that to laboratory analysis, and comparing it with samples taken from other bombings," Tom Fuentes said. |