Suicide bombing pair kills 35 in Iraq

BAGHDAD, May 1 (UPI) -- Two suicide bombers infiltrated a wedding convoy Thursday in northern Iraq, killing 35 people and wounding 76 others, Iraqi officials said.

The convoy was moving slowly through the market area of Bald Ruz when the first suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest, CNN reported. When bystanders and police tried to render aid, the second bomb exploded.

One of the bombers was a woman, an Iraqi official said, marking the fourth attack involving a female suicide bomber in 11 days.

The attack occurred as Iraqi lawmakers are in Iran with evidence that Iranians are training and arming insurgents, Iraqi officials told CNN. The Iraqi lawmakers also are expected to seek a meeting with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader.

The Iraqi visitors, however, don't plan to meet with rebel Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, whose Mehdi Army militia has been battling coalition forces in Baghdad's Sadr City, a densely populated Shiite neighborhood. Sadr is in Iran.

Meanwhile, at least nine people, including a U.S. soldier, died and 21 others wounded Thursday in a car bombing in Baghdad, military officials said.

Also, the U.S. military said it killed 18 fighters during a 24-hour period in Sadr City.

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