Lethal mortar attack rains down in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Revenge rode high Sunday in Iraq with a mortar attack that killed 16 in Baghdad, the deaths of two U.S. soldiers and a bus station bomb.

At least 165 people have died since Wednesday, when Sunni insurgents bombed the Golden Mosque in Samarra, one of the holiest shrines in Shiite Islam.

The BBC, citing a police source, said that a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad was hit by fire from at least eight mortars. Besides those killed, the attack injured 40 people.

The bus station bomb in Hilla, a Shiite-majority city 60 miles south of Baghdad, killed two people and wounded at least six more.

The soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in western Baghdad, CNN said. One died immediately and the other in a military hospital.

There were also attacks on three Sunni mosques in the capital, although there were no casualties.

In a show of solidarity, the top leaders from virtually all if Iraq's political factions met Saturday night to discuss the formation of a national unity government. The televised gathering included Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, President Jalal Talabani and former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

Shiite and Sunni religious and political leaders also met in an effort to promote peace.