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Armed Shiites on move after mosque blastU.S. soldier killed, three wounded north of Baghdad
NAJAF, Iraq (CNN) -- Friday's deadly explosion at a mosque in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf is likely to send shock waves throughout the Shiite world. A car bomb at the Imam Ali Mosque killed at least 125 people, hospital officials said, adding that the death toll is likely to rise. Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim, the spiritual leader of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, was among the dead, Shiite officials said. The Najaf Teaching Hospital is treating more 140 others who are wounded, officials said. (Full story) An uncle, Grand Ayatollah Mohamad Sa'eed al-Hakim, was the apparent target of another bombing Sunday that killed three of his bodyguards and wounded 10 others. The bomb was placed against the wall of his home in Najaf, which is about a half-mile from the mosque. (Shiites march to protest Sunday attack) New violence for coalition troopsThe British military reported a "small explosion" Friday night near their headquarters in Basra. The incident, which took place at about 9:30 p.m. [1:30 p.m. EDT], is being investigated. The British military said coalition forces do not appear to have been involved. Earlier, a U.S. soldier was killed and three wounded Friday morning in a rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms attack north of Baghdad, U.S. Central Command said. The attack on the soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division happened about around 9:15 a.m. [1:15 a.m. EDT] near Ba'qubah, about 30 miles [48 kilometers] northeast of the Iraqi capital, Central Command said. Earlier Friday, attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades at a U.S. military Humvee near a mosque in Fallujah, about 30 miles [48 kilometers] west of Baghdad, according to coalition officials. Two soldiers were wounded in the attack, which happened around 8:30 a.m. [12:30 a.m. EDT], officials said. With the latest attack, 144 U.S. soldiers have been killed since President Bush declared the end of major combat May 1; 66 of those deaths were from hostile fire. Also Friday, a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the Bulgarian military headquarters in Karbala, according to the commander in charge of Bulgarian forces, which took control of the area Tuesday. No one was wounded in the attack. There is no reliable source for Iraqi civilian or combatant casualty figures. The Associated Press reported an estimated 3,240 civilian Iraqi deaths between March 20 and April 20, but the AP said the figure was based on records of only half of Iraq's hospitals, and the actual number was thought to be significantly higher. Other developments• Alastair Campbell, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's communications director, announced Friday that he is resigning -- a week after giving evidence to an inquiry into the death of a government scientist. In a written statement, Campbell said he had intended to leave last summer but stayed on to oversee government communications during the war in Iraq. (Full story) • The Bush administration is considering having a multinational force in Iraq to be sponsored by the United Nations under U.S. command, a senior State Department official said. The option, however, is one of several the administration is considering in its effort to have more countries contribute to the security effort in post-war Iraq, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said in a roundtable discussion with newspaper reporters. (Full story) • The United Nations will reduce its international staff in Iraq as a security precaution after last week's truck bombing at the Baghdad U.N. office that killed 23 people, including the group's top envoy, a U.N. spokesman said Friday. The spokesman said about 400 international staffers are serving in Iraq -- about 110 of them in Baghdad. After the cuts, 40-50 will remain in Baghdad. Those who remain in Baghdad will be those "who will be performing core humanitarian functions, including security specialists who will be reassessing the situation on the ground," he said. (Interactive: U.N. staff in the line of fire) Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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