Friday, March 11 2005 09:50 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mosul, (Iraq): Forty-seven Iraqis were killed and more than 80 wounded in a suicide bombing at a Shiite funeral in Mosul, hospitals said, as the frontrunners in last month's elections raced to finalise a deal on a new Governing coalition.

The bomber struck on Wednesday (Mar 9, 2005) as mourners flocked into a hall next to the Sadreen mosque, where a service was being held for Hisham al-Araji, the Mosul representative for radical Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr.

"Many people were killed or wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the hall where the funeral service was being held," said one witness.

Doctor Ahmed Rajab at the Medical City hospital said it had received 18 dead and 41 wounded, while Dr Jassem Abdul Karim at Salam Hospital said 29 bodies and 40 wounded were brought to his facility.

Local television asked people to give blood while the local Sunni Muslim leadership, fearful of reprisals, urged calm in Mosul, which is Iraq's third-largest city and one of its most ethnically and religiously diverse.

Sunni Muslim Arabs make up about half of its 1.5 million population, while the rest are divided among Kurds, Turkmen, Shiites, Christians and other groups.

The city has been gripped by violence since November when the police force unravelled following insurgent attacks. And it saw very low Sunni turnout and numerous irregularities during the January 30 elections.

It is a stronghold of Islamic militant fighters and former regime loyalists.