Baghdad, Iraq - A suicide truck bomber sent a deadly storm of metal, stone and jagged plaster through worshippers leaving a Sunni mosque yesterday, 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.
U.S. military envoys and pro-government leaders have worked hard to persuade 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 bombing in Habbaniyah - in the heart of insurgent territory about 50 miles west of Baghdad - was among the deadliest against civilians in Anbar.
The imam of the mosque had spoken out against extremists - most recently in this Friday's sermon, residents said. Many people in the neighborhood work for the Iraqi military and police forces, who frequently come under militant attack.
The truck, filled with building materials such as stone and plaster board, was blown apart as worshippers left after midafternoon prayers.
Rescuers, including U.S. soldiers, pulled survivors from the debris. The U.S. military sealed off the area and said it opened its medical facilities to "the most life-threatening injuries" among the more than 60 hurt.
Police official Lt. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed placed the death toll at 39, but authorities warned that it could rise. The U.S. military said that it was a suicide attack.
The attack came a day after U.S. troops raided a factory complex in Fallujah full of propane tanks and industrial chemicals that the military said could be used to make bombs. Back-to-back bombings in the past week released chlorine gas and raised worries that insurgents were experimenting with chemicals to boost the terror level of their attacks.
At least 14 people were killed in bombings around Baghdad - most targeting Shiite areas - even as U.S.-Iraqi forces press ahead with neighborhood-by-neighborhood sweeps to reclaim control of the city. After nightfall, nearly 20 strong explosions reverberated through Baghdad in a reported exchange of fire between U.S. troops and insurgents south of the capital.