BAGHDAD | A suicide bomber struck a Kurdish funeral tent northeast of Baghdad Monday, officials said, in the deadliest of a series of attacks that killed 24 people nationwide.
One of the victims said the funeral gathering was targeted because of the close alliance the Kurds have had with the United States.
The violence came as Turkey’s president made the first visit to Iraq by a Turkish head of state in more than 30 years.
The bomber detonated his explosives inside the tent as a funeral was being held for the father of a local Kurdish politician, killing at least 15 people and wounding 30 in Jalula, according to Col. Azad Issa, the director of a nearby police station. Local Kurdish official Salahuddin Kekh confirmed the attack and casualty toll.
A man who identified himself by his nickname, Abu Holman, said he was outside the tent when the blast occurred. He blamed al Qaeda in Iraq, which typically stages suicide bombings.
“Al Qaeda is targeting the Kurds because it believes that we are involved in the political process and collaborating with the Americans. There are still many al Qaeda hotbeds in our area,” Mr. Abu Holman said from his hospital bed.
The blast occurred hours after Iraqi police said eight people were killed and 10 wounded by a bomb west of the capital. Another suicide bomber struck a popular market in the northern city of Tal Afar, killing a policeman and wounding eight other people, according to police.
A spate of bombings in recent weeks has raised fears that insurgents may be escalating operations as the U.S. phases out its combat role in Iraq and prepares to withdraw troops from cities by the end of June.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul urged the leadership in Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region to crack down on Kurdish rebels that use bases on their territory to launch cross-border attacks into Turkey.
Turkey has staged several cross-border air strikes against rebel targets and also is pressing Baghdad to step up efforts against the Kurdish rebels on Iraq’s side of the border.
The rebels have been fighting for autonomy in Turkey’s southeast since 1984. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people.
“The time has come to remove the element that is a source of trouble,” Mr. Gul said during a joint news conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, himself a Kurd.
“We need to engage in a joint struggle to completely eradicate terrorism,” he said. “A comprehensive cooperation is required. There is no doubt that a greater part befalls on the [region] where the terrorist organization’s leadership and camps are based.”
Mr. Talabani said the removal of the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, was in Iraq’s interest as well and called on the rebels to lay down their arms.
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