Blasts rocked the compound surrounding the Kufa mosque on Monday after ammunition used by fighters loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr apparently caught fire, witnesses said. At least nine people were injured.
Flames and smoke rose above the building. Firefighters and ambulances raced to the site, where fighters in al-Sadr's al-Madhi army had been holed up.
A spokesman for the U.S.-led occupation said no forces were near the mosque at the time of the blast and denied any involvement in this incident.
At the Furat al-Awsat hospital in Kufa, Mohammed Abdul-Kadhim, a nurse, said that nine people were brought in with injuries from the explosions, mostly burns.
Meanwhile, nine major Iraqi political parties agreed Monday to disband their militias, the interim prime minister said, although Muqtada al-Sadr's fighters did not join the agreement, The AP reported.
Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said about 100,000 armed individuals will enter civilian life or take jobs in the state police force or security services.
None of the nine militias has been fighting the government and most are controlled by mainstream political movements represented in the government.
Under the agreement, most of the militias are to be phased out by 2005.
The deal includes militia members who fought for the Kurdish parties - the Kurdish Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. They battled Saddam Hussein's forces in the northern part of the county. (albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
