Truck blast kills 35 at Iraqi mosque

an apparent sign of increased internal Sunni battles between insurgents and those opposing them.

The imam of the mosque in Habbaniyah, about 50 miles west of Baghdad, had spoken out against militants fighting the U.S.-backed government, including the group al-Qaida in Iraq.
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There was no claim of responsibility, but suspicion fell on battles between Sunni groups in Anbar province west of Baghdad. Militants have increased attacks against Sunni leaders who support the government and denounce violence.

Blast May Hint at Growing Sunni Conflict
Bomber kills 39 Iraq mosque worshippers in possible sign of escalating
violence between Sunnis

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 25, 2007
By BRIAN MURPHY Associated Press Writer

(AP) A suicide truck bomber sent a deadly storm of metal, stone and jagged
plaster through worshippers leaving a Sunni mosque Saturday, killing at least
39 in a possible sign of escalating internal Sunni battles between insurgents
and those who oppose them.

The motive for the attack was not immediately clear. But it carried the
hallmarks of an increasingly bloody struggle for control of Anbar province
_ a hotbed of anti-U.S. guerrillas since the uprising in Fallujah in 2004
that galvanized the insurgency.

U.S. military envoys and pro-government leaders have worked hard to sway
clan chiefs and other influential Anbar figures to turn against the militants,
who include foreign jihadists fighting under the banner of al-Qaida in Iraq.
The extremists have fought back with targeted killings and bombings against
fellow Sunnis.

The blast in Habbaniyah _ in the heart of insurgent territory about 50 miles
west of Baghdad _ was among the deadliest against civilians in Anbar.

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