BAGHDAD — Suicide bombers struck a funeral west of Baghdad and an Iraqi army post south of the capital Wednesday, killing at least 21 people in attacks that coincided with an Iraqi military offensive against al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The bombings were characteristic of attacks carried out by the Sunni Arab insurgent group, which has set up base in the northern city of Mosul after being driven out of two provinces farther south.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki traveled to Mosul on Wednesday to oversee the offensive, a trip reminiscent of one he made to Basra in late March when he sent his military into the city to crack down on Shiite militiamen.
Although no one claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attacks, their timing suggests al-Qaeda in Iraq might respond to the Mosul crackdown with attacks elsewhere.
But unlike the earlier Basra offensive, which galvanized followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to rise up against security forces, the Mosul operation is expected to hve less effect.
Unlike al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army, which was blamed for at least some of the post-Basra violence, al-Qaeda in Iraq lacks popular support, and its numbers are far fewer than the militia’s estimated 60,000 fighters.
The worst of Wednesday’s attacks was in Sadan, about 40 miles west of Baghdad. Police said a man strapped with explosives walked into a funeral and detonated his bomb.
The service was held for Taha Obaid Zubai, a teacher killed a day earlier in front of his school by attackers who used a pistol with a silencer. He was a member of the Islamic Party, one of the main Sunni political groups. His cousin is Fallujah’s police commander.
Police said 21 people, including the bomber, were killed Wednesday and 15 wounded.
Earlier, there were two assassination attempts on Islamic Party lawmakers in Baghdad. Both escaped injury, but three people were reported killed.
