Iraq car bomb kills seven

BAGHDAD - A car bomber has killed seven people and wounded nine near a crowd of Shi'ite pilgrims travelling south of Baghdad to an annual religious ceremony that officials feared would draw attacks.

In Baghdad, political leaders met again to try to agree on cabinet posts two months after an election. Iraq's National Assembly is due to meet for its second session on Tuesday and may unveil some senior positions but not the full cabinet.

Police in Iskandariya, south of Baghdad, said the bomber struck on Monday on a road leading towards Kerbala, a sacred Shi'ite city where this week hundreds of thousands of pilgrims will mark Arbain, an annual mourning ceremony.

Shi'ites have frequently been targeted by members of the Sunni-led insurgency over the past two years, particularly during religious occasions. At ceremonies in Kerbala and Baghdad last year, more than 130 pilgrims were killed by suicide bombs.

Iraqi police have strengthened security in and around Kerbala over the past week, fearing attacks in the build up to the commemoration, which mourns the death of a 7th century martyr, Imam Hussein. The ritual climaxes on Thursday.

Traditionally, Shi'ites walk from their hometowns to Kerbala for Arbain. The pilgrims were targeted as they passed through an area south of Baghdad dubbed the "triangle of death" because of the frequency of insurgent strikes.

In apparently related violence, a bicycle strapped with explosives blew up near a police car on the main road from Baghdad to Kerbala, killing two policemen and wounding several other police and civilians, local police said.

Al Qaeda's wing in Iraq, led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has claimed responsibility for several past attacks against Shi'ite religious gatherings.

In the Doura district of southwestern Baghdad, police chief colonel Abdel Karim al-Fahad was gunned down by unknown assailants as he drove to work. His driver was also killed. In an internet statement, al Qaeda claimed responsibility.

And in Najaf, south of Kerbala, police major Nour Karim Nour was shot dead by US troops after approaching a checkpoint on the wrong side of the road, Najaf's police chief said. The US military had no immediate information.

Despite the violence, Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib told a news conference the insurgency was weakening.

"I think they will collapse very soon," he said. "Maybe by the end of this year we will see a change."

- REUTERS