Sources close to the late Shaykh Abd al-Sattar al-Jumayli, imam of the Sunni al-Raqib Mosque in Falluja, who was among those killed in the bombing attack on Monday, told al-Melaf Press that the local Falluja leadership of the Islamic Army in Iraq was gathered in the mosque at the time of the attack.
Al-Jumayli and his son Abd al-Rahman, were among the 12 killed by the blast.
Earlier media reports said that the dead were local worshipers waiting for a religious sermon, but the al-Melaf Press report suggests that the attack targeted the Islamic Army in Iraq commanders.
In addition to being the leader of the al-Raqib mosque, al-Jumayli was a Falluja leader of the Islamic Army, al-Melaf Press writes, citing sources who said that al-Jumayli spent time outside of Iraq in recent months because of the threat posed by the al-Qa'ida in Iraq elements that exercised control over the city.
Al-Jumayli returned to Falluja only after the security situation became more stable, the sources told al-Melaf Press, pointing to the apparent withdrawal of the members of the al-Qa'ida in Iraq--affiliated “Islamic State of Iraq” to areas outside the city, fearing arrests and the pursuit of the Iraqi police.
Meanwhile, the death toll of the blast reached 12 dead, after two more victims perished from their injuries on Tuesday afternoon, according to Dr. Ahmad Ali of the Falluja General Hospital, Aswat al-Iraq reports in Arabic. Nine injured victims remain in the hospital, said Ali, repeating the claim that the victims were struck while preparing for prayers at the time of the explosion.
On Tuesday, thousands of Falluja residents joined the funeral procession from the al-Furqan mosque in the city center to the Falluja Martyrs Cemetery, which was established two years ago to accommodate the victims of the armed conflict between militants and US forces, as well as victims of armed groups in the city, Aswat al-Iraq writes.
The Islamic Army in Iraq and the Islamic State of Iraq have had open disagreements, including armed struggles, and the Islamic Army has participated in most of the major battles that occurred in the nearby village of Amiriyat al-Falluja to rid the city of the control of al-Qa'ida in Iraq, al-Melaf Press writes.
Iraqi security officials have not publicly made a connection between the blast and the Islamic Army, maintaining that the victims were assembled for prayers and religious activity.
A security source told Aswat al-Iraq that “a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt detonated himself in the sermon hall of the al-Raqib mosque, in sector one of the al-Shuhada district north of Falluja, after the end of the night prayers on Monday, leading to the complete destruction of the room upon those worshippers inside of it,” confirming that al-Jumayli and his son numbered among the dead.
Although the perpetrators of the attack are not known, if it is true that the victims were associated with the Islamic Army, the development could stand to shatter what appears to be a recently announced truce between the Islamic Army and the al-Qa'ida in Iraq organization.
For its part, the influential Association of Muslim Scholars of Iraq, led by Harith al-Dhari has condemned Monday’s bombing attack in Falluja, calling for “the respect of the blood of Muslims and the preservation of their holy sites,” and calling for opposition to “any strife seeking to divide the unity of the Muslims.”
Falluja has endured a harsh curfew for the last three months, including a complete lockdown on personal vehicle traffic. US forces withdrew from the seven entries to the city, turning security control of the cities entrances over to Iraqi forces, al-Quds Press reported in Arabic, adding that Iraqi police forces had said that the US-implemented program of requiring special identification for male residents between ages 15 and 60. The US has experimented with such identification programs around Anbar province. Under the curfew, only those bearing the proper identification card are permitted to enter or leave the city.
