BAGHDAD, May 30 -- Three suicide bombers strapped with explosives detonated themselves Monday morning amid a crowd of police commandos in the city of Hilla, southeast of Baghdad, killing 31 people and wounding 108, according to Dr. Muhammed Hadi of the Hilla hospital.
The attack targeted about 1,000 police commandos who were gathered for the second consecutive day to protest a decision by the governor of Babil province to disband their units.
The first two blasts came simultaneously, sending the crowd into a frenzy, and forcing many to seek shelter in the nearby Babil Health Directorate building, where the other bomber was waiting. The third blast shook the building moments later.
The attacks came during a month of sustained violence by insurgents, who have killed more than 700 people across Iraq since the announcement of the country's new government at the end of April. The explosions in Hilla left the streets soaked in blood and strewn with body parts.
Iraqi Police Brig. Gen. Qais Hamza vowed that U.S. and Iraqi forces, who quickly sealed off the area, would soon launch a major operation in the to root out insurgents.
"We will take revenge," he said.
Meanwhile, in Baghdad, U.S.-led coalition forces arrested the head of one of the country's largest Sunni Muslim political parties, storming his home before dawn and taking him into custody, along with three of his sons, some guests and some of his guards.
The Iraqi Islamic Party, which boycotted Iraq's January elections but which has recently been negotiating with Iraq's government about increasing Sunni participation in the political process, held a midday news conference to denounce the raid on the home of its leader, Mohsen Abdul Hamid.
In a statement released Monday afternoon by the coalition forces press office said the arrests had been a mistake. "Mr. Hamid is being returned to his home," the statement said. "Coalition forces regret any inconvenience and acknowledge Mr. Hamid's cooperation in resolving this matter."
The troops "broke down doors and mishandled its occupants and stole some articles," said Tariq Hashimi, the party's secretary general. "Dr. Abdul Hamid was mistreated in a very bad way, which indicates the savagery of the occupation forces."
Amid a rash of killings targeting both Shiite Muslim and Sunni clerics, Sunni religious leaders have charged the Shiite-led government with complicity in raids and attacks, heightening concerns about sectarian conflict. The government has responded that the attacks were carried out by insurgents hoping to keep the Sunnis from cooperating with the government and push Iraq toward civil war.
Adnan Mohammed Salman, who heads the government agency that oversees Sunni affairs, said "we find that there are certain steps taken to foil the Sunnis' participation, as if there are invisible hands trying to marginalize the Sunnis."
Sarhan reported from Hilla. Special Correspondent Omar Fekeiki in Baghdad contributed to this report.
