Suicide bombings killed more than 50 people in Iraq Friday as debate raged in Washington over the U.S. military presence.
The latest attacks came in Baghdad and in the eastern city of Khanaqin, near the Iranian border. The Khanaqin carnage, believed to have claimed close to 50 lives, occurred when two suicide bombers detonated devices near or inside two Shiite mosques.
The attacks took place around 12:30 p.m., when the mosques would have been full with worshipers for Friday prayers.
Earlier Friday, in the Iraqi capital, at least six people were killed and 40 were wounded when two car bombs were detonated near a central Baghdad hotel and the Interior Ministry compound.
The al-Hamra Hotel, popular with Western news organizations and contractors, had structural damage and windows blown out. Apartment buildings on either side of the hotel were damaged extensively and one collapsed. A security camera across the street recorded the deadly explosion. Washington Post Video
The two suicide bomb attacks appeared to be coordinated, police told United Press International
Meanwhile, the White House said it is “baffled” by Congressman John Murtha’s call for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, comparing the Pennsylvania Democrat’s view to that of filmmaker Michael Moore.
“Congressman Murtha is a respected veteran and politician who has a record of supporting a strong America. So it is baffling that he is endorsing the policy positions of Michael Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the Democratic Party,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said in a statement distributed to reporters here.
Murtha, a veteran of combat in the Korean War and Vietnam, said American troops have inflamed the insurgency in Iraq. He introduced a resolution Thursday that would force President George W. Bush to pull the military out of Iraq. Murtha, known as one of the most hawkish Democrats in Congress, is the top Democrat on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.