77 killed in Iraq twin blasts

Baghdad: At least 77 people were killed and more than 80 wounded on Friday when two suicide bombers strapped with explosives blew themselves up inside two Shi'ite mosques in the eastern Iraq town of Khanaqin.

More bodies were trapped in the rubble, said Ibrahim Ahmed Bajalan, a member of the local council in Khanaqin. ?I think there are more than 100 people dead," he said.

Another lesser blast was reported near a bank in Baghdad, police said.

Kamaran Ahmed, the director of Khanaqin hospital, said that 77 people had been confirmed killed and 80 were wounded.

The death toll rose steadily through the day but looked to be stabilizing.

The attacks in the mixed Shi'ite and Kurdish town near the border with Iran seemed certain to fuel sectarian tensions ahead of December 15 election that US hopes will pave the way for peace and democracy after the US-led invasion.

The Shi'ite and Kurdish-led government and its US backers are fighting mainly against Sunni Arab insurgency that has frequently blown up civilians in crowded places like mosques and markets.

Police said that the bombers entered the small Sheikh Murad and Khanaqin Grand mosques with explosive belts strapped to their waists and detonated themselves when the buildings were at their busiest during Friday prayers.

Earlier in November, nearly 30 people were killed at a Shi'ite mosque in the town of Musayyib, south of Baghdad.

Baghdad blasts

In Baghdad earlier on Friday, two suicide truck bombs failed to pierce the perimeter of a major hotel and destroyed an apartment block instead, killing at least six people, including two children.

Police said that at least 40 were also wounded in the near simultaneous blasts at the Hamra Hotel. There were no reports of foreign casualties.

Witnesses at the hotel said body parts were found in the swimming pool and in the street outside.

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Security camera footage showed a white van driving up to blast walls at the perimeter of the hotel complex and exploding. About 20 seconds later the second explosion blew out the camera.

The nearby apartment building was reduced to rubble and about 20 cars were destroyed.

It was the second major attack on high-profile hotels in Baghdad in a month. The Sheraton and Palestine hotels were hit in late October.

About three hours later, US troops blew up a suspected car bomb in the same area.

The Hamra is a few hundred meters from a secret Interior Ministry bunker raided on Sunday by US forces who found 170 prisoners, mostly Sunni Arabs, many of whom had apparently been beaten, starved and tortured.

"They targeted Shi'ite houses in Baghdad regardless of the hotel and they did not target the shelter. I had to pull a 15-year-old girl from the rubble," said Hameed Taha, a resident.

UN human rights chief Louise Arbour on Friday called for an international inquiry into Iraqi jails because of the abuse scandal.