A woman was killed and eight other people were hurt when a homeless shelter run by Iraq's largest Shia Muslim political group collapsed. Officials from the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) have blamed Friday morning's disaster on a bomb attack, but a senior US military officer said a structural defect was to the culprit. The west Baghdad building, which also houses a religious school, collapsed on to families sleeping in the compound. SCIRI spokesman Mohsin al-Hakim said an explosion had been detonated by remote control. "We were asleep and suddenly about five o'clock in the morning the roof fell on us," said Ahmad Rahim, 23, a nephew of the woman who died. "We were buried under the rubble and our neighbours came and helped us get out." As he spoke, a shaikh from the religious school arrived and Rahim cried out: "Why didn't you tell us it is dangerous here?"
| It's Iraq. Of course it's dangerous. You got gunnies, you snuffies, you got boomers, and you have buildings that fall down around your ears without warning. Other than that, the place isn't bad... |
Sheikh Abd al-Wahid replied that bombings are happening all over Iraq. "It is Saddam's people who commit these attacks," he said. US Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, speaking at a press conference in Baghdad, said he had received a report indicating there was no explosion. "The Iraqi police service reported to the 1st Armored Division that the building collapsed due to a structural integrity problem," he said. |