AT LEAST 80 people were killed on Saturday when a massive truck bomb exploded in a town near the disputed Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk.
Another 211 were wounded by the device, which exploded as worshippers were leaving prayers at a Shia mosque in the predominantly ethnic Turk town of Taza Kharmatu. A neighbourhood market packed with shoppers and 40 houses were destroyed.
Rescuers continued to pull bodies from the rubble yesterday and a doctor at the local morgue predicted the death toll would rise.
"This ugly crime is an attempt to harm security and stability and spread mistrust of the Iraqi forces," said Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki.
"Our forces . . . will arrest those who committed the crime . . . and bring them to justice."
The attack came just 10 days before the deadline for US troops to pull out of Iraq's cities ahead of a complete withdrawal from the country at the end of 2011.
Taza Kharmatu is in Tamim province, which the Kurds are seeking to annex to their autonomous region despite opposition from ethnic Turks and Arabs. But al-Qaeda was blamed for Saturday's bombing, which inflicted the heaviest toll on civilians since two women recruited by al-Qaeda blew themselves up at Baghdad's pet market in February last year, killing 98.
The bombing in the violence-plagued north coincided with the handover to Iraqi government forces of a US military base in Baghdad's Sadr City district.
The departure of US troops is popular in this district, home to two million Shias largely loyal to anti-occupation cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. His Mahdi army militia, which fought US and Iraqi forces in Sadr City and the Shia holy city of Najaf in 2004, was ordered to disband in 2008 after heavy fighting in the south involving Iraqi troops bolstered by US air- and firepower.
Many militia members went underground or were detained by Iraqi security forces.
There is concern in Baghdad that elements of the Mahdi army could resurface and take on government troops once US troops leave. Mr Sadr, who is studying at a Shia seminary in Iran, will reportedly return to Iraq soon.
Iraqi forces are due to complete the takeover of 138 US military sites in Iraq's cities and towns in the coming days, the most sensitive being in Kirkuk and Mosul in the north and Baghdad in the centre.
Mr Maliki has dubbed June 30th a "blessed day" and pro- claimed it a public holiday.
The date has symbolic meaning for Iraqis as it is the anniversary of the 1920 revolt against the British occupation of Iraq. Mr Maliki said the overall US withdrawal would be "a testament to the success of the Iraqi government . . . There may be some acts of violence and attempts to murder members of the Iraqi forces, but they stand ready" to assume control.
