BAGHDAD (AP) — A senior intelligence figure in Iraq says it's possible that security guards may have taken bribes to allow terrorists to attack a Shiite pilgrimage today.
Bombings in a half-dozen Iraqi cities today have killed at least 40 people and wounded dozens of others.
Security officials are clamping down on traffic, as Shiite Muslims brace for more attacks during pilgrimages this week.
In a city south of Baghdad, a vegetable truck packed with explosives blew up in a crowded market, killing 26 people. According to a senior Iraqi military intelligence official, there were at least two security lapses, and he says money might have changed hands. One guard at a checkpoint failed to properly search the truck, saying he couldn't stand the smell of rotting vegetables and fruit. Another allowed the truck to enter the market itself instead of being unloaded outside.
Over the past month, more than 275 people have died in attacks in Iraq, adding to fears that the country is descending further into violence since the last American troops left late last year.
