Iraqis arrest father of suspected bomber

By Haider Salahuddin

QARAGHOUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi authorities arrested on Saturday the father and brother of a man suspected of killing at least 23 people in a suicide bombing at a pre-election tribal gathering south of Baghdad.

The incident, the deadliest attack in Iraq for weeks, highlighted the increasing role tribes and clans are playing in Iraqi politics ahead of provincial polls later this month.

The bomber struck a feast held to unite members of the Qaraghouli tribe, many of whom live in the Qaraghoul village south of Baghdad. Tribe members were invited from other parts of Iraq, and political candidates attended.

Video footage of the aftermath of the bombing obtained by Reuters showed scenes of chaos in a garden at the home of tribe leader Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah Saleh. Corpses and body parts were strewn amid scores of plastic chairs set up for a feast.

On Saturday, tribesmen carried coffins of the victims to the graveyard for burial, chanting "There is no God but Allah."

"The gathering was held to gather our tribal leaders in the north, and the south as well, to unify them. But a criminal act has taken place, causing the death of a number of our brothers," village mayor Jassim Mohammed told Reuters.

Major-General Qassim Moussawi, a security spokesman in Baghdad, said the father and son of the suspected bomber had been detained and confessed to helping stage the attack.

Tribal structures are gaining in clout in Iraq and are expected to advance in the January 31 provincial elections at the expense of the sectarian-based political parties that have divided power in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein.