25 dead in funeral bombing, Australian feared kidnapped in Iraq

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2005

MOSUL, Iraq (AFP) — A suicide car bomb ripped through a Kurdish funeral in northern Iraq, killing 25 people and wounding 30, as a new hostage crisis erupted with an Australian pleading for his life in a new videotape.

Another 14 Iraqis were killed in relentless violence around the country, but officials announced they had found new evidence on the mysterious disappearance of British aid worker Margaret Hassan with the arrest of several suspects.

The bomber ploughed his vehicle into mourners gathered for the funeral of a Kurdish official in the northern Iraqi city of Tall Afar at around 6:00 pm (1400 GMT), a source at the Kurdistan Democratic Party told AFP.

"Twenty-five people were killed and more than 30 wounded in the attack," said Khusru Kuran, who is...