Bombing in Baghdad kills 11; al-Sadr loyalists withdraw from government

~ The withdrawal leaves Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki 30 seats short of a majority.

BAGHDAD -- A car bomb struck a bakery crowded with customers lining up for bread, killing at least 11 people on Saturday as they ended their daytime Ramadan fast, officials said.

The government, which had hoped a peaceful holy month would demonstrate the success of a 7-month-old security operation, suffered another blow when lawmakers loyal to the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced their withdrawal from the Shiite bloc in parliament.

The withdrawal leaves the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki 30 seats short of a majority, although it can likely count on support from independent Shiites who hold 30 seats and some minor parties.

The decision by al-Sadr's followers is likely to complicate further U.S.-backed efforts to win parliamentary approval of power-sharing legislation including the oil bill and an easing of curbs that prevent former Saddam Hussein supporters from getting back their government jobs.

Hospital officials said the 11 killed in the Baghdad explosion included two children. The blast damaged five stores and three houses and burned five cars, according to police.

"We rushed outside the house after hearing the sound of the explosion. I could see the bakery and a nearby pickle shop on fire," said Abu Ahmed, a 36-year-old Shiite government employee. "The wounded were screaming for help as the ambulances were arriving."

The bombing occurred at the start of iftar, the meal Muslims eat to break their dawn-to-dusk fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

An al-Qaida front group, meanwhile, threatened Sunni Arab tribal leaders who cooperate with the United States and its Iraqi partners, saying the assassination of Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, the leader of the revolt against the terror movement, was just a beginning.

In claiming responsibility for Abu Risha's death Thursday, the Islamic State said it had formed "special security committees" to track down and "assassinate the tribal figures, the traitors, who stained the reputations of the real tribes by submitting to the soldiers of the Crusade" and the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

"We will publish lists of names of the tribal figures to scandalize them in front of our blessed tribes," the statement added.

U.S. officials hope Abu Risha's death will not reverse the tide against al-Qaida, which began last year when he organized Sunni clans to fight the terror movement, producing a dramatic turnaround in Ramadi and other parts of Anbar province.

The revolt has spread to Sunni insurgent groups in Baghdad, Diyala province and elsewhere. Some insurgents who were ambushing U.S. troops a few months ago are now working alongside the Americans to rid their communities of al-Qaida.

Abu Risha's brother Ahmed was elected head of the Anbar Awakening movement soon after the bombing at the family's heavily guarded compound on the outskirts of Ramadi.

The national Interior Ministry announced that a police brigade would be named after the slain tribal leader and a statue would be erected in Ramadi in his honor.

Iraqi officials said the roadside bomb was just outside Abu Risha's walled compound, in view of a guard shack and an Iraqi police checkpoint.

Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the second-highest ranking U.S. officer in Iraq, and several high-ranking government officials attended the funeral, including Iraq's interior and defense ministers and National Security Adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie.

"We condemn the killing of Abu Risha, but this will not deter us from helping the people of Anbar -- we will support them more than before," al-Rubaie declared. "It is a national disaster and a great loss for the Iraqi people -- Abu Risha was the only person to confront al-Qaida in Anbar."

Abu Risha's assassination clouded President Bush's claims of progress in Iraq, especially in Anbar, which had been the center of the Sunni insurgency until the dramatic turnaround by the local sheiks. Bush met with Abu Risha during a visit to Anbar on Sept. 3.

The U.S. military on Saturday announced the death of a Task Force Marne soldier killed on a foot patrol south of Baghdad. The statement did not specify where the attack Friday occurred, but Task Force Marne is responsible for a volatile area that includes Sunni insurgent strongholds on the southern rim of Baghdad and predominantly Shiite areas farther south.

In a televised address Thursday, Bush ordered gradual reductions in U.S. forces in Iraq but rejected calls to end the war. More than 130,000 U.S. troops will remain after the withdrawals are completed in July.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Friday raised the possibility of cutting U.S. troop levels to 100,000 or so by the end of 2008, if conditions improve enough.

"It was encouraging to see the president's comments to Americans to reinforce support for us," said U.S. Lt. Col. Mike Donnelly, 42, based at Tikrit with the 25th Infantry Division.

U.S. Capt. Bryan Greening, 25, said he found no surprises in Bush's speech.

"I think the drawdown is a good idea," said Greening, assigned to Tikrit with the 1st Cavalry Division. "The surge has done whatever it can and now it's time to allow soldiers to go home and get some rest."

1st. Lt. Larry Pitts, 33, serving with the 82nd Airborne Division in north Baghdad, said soldiers are aware of the political debate in the U.S. but "we don't have the time to worry about the big picture."

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Associated Press correspondent Maggie Michael contributed to this report from Cairo, Egypt.