A well-known mosque in Baghdad was destroyed on Monday one hour after a historic meeting between ambassadors of Iran and the United States had began, the Iraqi daily A-Zaman reported.
Forty-two people were killed and 70 were wounded when a car bomb exploded near a mosque, where the grave of Sheikh ‘Abd Al-Qadir Al-Kilani is located. The grave holds a great spiritual significance for Muslims around the world and the bombing was denounced by Iraqi legislatures from all parties. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani announced the mosque would be renovated as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, not far from the scene of the bombing, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan C. Crocker, met with his Iranian counterpart, Hasan Kazimi. It was the first time in 27 years that such a meeting has taken place. The two diplomats met in an attempt to calm the deteriorating security situation in Iraq. Crocker demanded that Iran stop its supply of weapons and equipment to armed groups affiliated with Iraqi parties. He gave Kazimi a detailed list of terror cells and operatives that work in Iraq under the direct supervision of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
For his part, Kazimi blamed the U.S. for its failure to maintain stability in Iraq. Kazimi failed to answer Crocker’s accusations.
The two delegations agreed that it was in their mutual interest not to let the security situation in Iraq deteriorate further. Crocker, however, refused to accept Kazimi’s proposal to establish a tri-partite security committee, with representatives from Iran, the U.S. and Iraq.