A senior official warned Iraq was in an "undeclared civil war" that can be curbed only by a strong government and greater powers for security services. Fears of more attacks are running high in Shiite areas following Thursday and Friday car bombings that killed 95 people.
A senior Iraqi official said Saturday that an "undeclared civil war" had already been raging for more than a year. "Is there a civil war? Yes, there is an undeclared civil war that has been there for a year or more," Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal told The Associated Press. "All these bodies that are discovered in Baghdad, the slaughter of pilgrims heading to holy sites, the explosions, the destruction, the attacks against the mosques are all part of this."
His comments were echoed by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. "Civil war has almost started among Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds and those who are coming from Asia. The situation is uneasy and I don't know how would Iraq be brought together," Mubarak said in an interview broadcast Saturday on Al-Arabiya satellite television.
Meanwhile, The New York Times reported in its online edition Saturday that an internal staff report by the American Embassy and the military command rated overall stability of six of Iraq's 18 provinces "serious" and one "critical."
The newspaper said provinces where overall stability was rated "serious" included Baghdad and Basra, where Shiite militias wield considerable influence. Anbar province, which includes Ramadi and Fallujah, was rated "critical," the newspaper said.
The U.S. military reported Saturday that a U.S. Marine died from wounds suffered in hostile action the day before in Anbar province but gave no further details.
