N. Iraq Blasts Kill Dozens; Gates Arrives In Baghdad

U.S.-Backed Sunni Guards, Security Forces Are Targeted

BAGHDAD, Feb. 10 -- A series of bombings targeting Iraqi security forces and U.S.-backed Sunni guards killed as many as 37 people in northern Iraq on Sunday, according to Iraqi officials.

The deadliest attack targeted an outdoor market in the predominantly Sunni village of Yathrib, where residents have recently battled the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq. Witnesses said the U.S.-backed guards were monitoring the market, which is less than 10 miles east of the city of Balad, when a suicide car bomber attacked in their vicinity.

The late-afternoon explosion was followed by a second car bombing nearby, Iraqi police said.

Hospital officials in Balad said 33 people were killed and 41 wounded in the explosions. U.S. military officials put the death toll at 23.

A car bomber also struck near Mosul, a northern oil center. The embattled city has become a focal point of insurgents in recent weeks, and Iraqi army reinforcements have arrived there in an attempt to quell the violence. The explosion Sunday targeted an Iraqi army checkpoint, killing four soldiers and wounding seven, said Brig. Gen. Khalid Abdul Sattar, a spokesman for the Mosul operations center.

The violence came as Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates flew into Baghdad for an assessment of the security situation and to meet with U.S. generals and Iraqi officials. He was scheduled to have dinner with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker and the top American military commander in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus.

The visit was Gates's first to Iraq this year. He told reporters traveling with him that Iraqi politicians "seem to have become energized over the last few weeks" and that he was eager to "see what the prospects are for further success in the next couple of months," according to the Associated Press. He would not speculate about whether he plans to at least temporarily halt the withdrawal of American troops this summer, as some U.S. commanders have advocated.

The situation in northern Iraq has emerged as one of the biggest problems for the American military after it helped reduce the violence in other war-torn areas, including Baghdad and Anbar provinces. The market bombing near Balad is the type of act that has sparked reprisal and sectarian killings in the past.

After the attack, relatives of some Sunni victims were afraid to seek treatment in Balad, a predominantly Shiite city, but others ignored that concern.

"We sent every ambulance we had and we didn't think that those people are Sunnis and Balad is Shiite," said Lt. Zahed al Haidari, a police official stationed at Balad Hospital.

Mohammed Jasim al-Mazroui, 26, a vegetable vendor, was in his house behind the market when the first car bomb exploded. The blast destroyed the cellphone shop of his 17-year-old brother, Hazim. They found him on the floor of the shop under rubble, bleeding from his head, Mazroui said.

"We forgot all the obstacles, we forgot our fears, and we forgot we are Sunni and Balad is Shiite," he said. "We forgot everything and rushed him to the hospital.

Hazim died before the family could check him in.

"After this crime, we will fight al-Qaeda wherever we find them," Mazroui said.

Also Sunday, an American soldier was convicted of murdering an unarmed Iraqi man and later planting a gun near him, according to the U.S. military.

During a court-martial in Baghdad, Sgt. Evan Vela, 24, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the May 11, 2007, killing south of Baghdad. The Iraqi was shot after he walked into an area where a small group of U.S. soldiers were sleeping.

Special correspondent Naseer Nouri in Baghdad contributed to this report.