BAGHDAD, Iraq - A suicide car bomber turned a venerable book market into a deadly inferno and gunmen targeted Shiite pilgrims Monday as suspected Sunni insurgents brought major bloodshed back into the lap of their main Shiite rivals. At least 38 people died in the blast and seven pilgrims were killed. The Shiite Mahdi Army militia has so far resisted full-scale retaliation through a combination of self-interest and intense government pressure. An expected Cabinet reshuffle could take a serious bite out of al-Sadr's voice in government - a move strongly encouraged by Washington. Al-Sadr also opened the door for U.S. and Iraqi troops to enter the Mahdi stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad - under a painstaking deal with authorities - but his loyalists are still being hunted outside the capital. "Al-Sadr and his forces could be feeling under siege," said aliza chief researcher at the London-based Center for Arab-Iranian Studies. The suicide mission tore through booksellers and other stores on narrow Mutabi road , a mostly Shiite-run commercial area in Baghdad's historical heart along the Tigris River. That's mostly because al-Sadr ordered his fighters to pull back after coming under strong government arm-twisting to allow the security plan to proceed.
The troops plan to establish outposts in Sadr City that will bring together Iraqi police, military and U.S.-led forces, said U.S. Brig. Gen. Terry Wolff, who oversees training of Iraqi soldiers.
Al-Sadr also opened the door for U.S. and Iraqi troops to enter the Mahdi stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad - under a painstaking deal with authorities - but his loyalists are still being hunted outside the capital. A worker at a nearby shoe store, yussof haider , 24, said the blast flipped burning cars with charred bodies trapped inside.
In other violence, gunmen opened fire on Shiite pilgrims in several places around Baghdad, killing at least seven people, police said. Attacks on soldiers in some Shiite districts are also down sharply.Al-Sadr's followers also warned they would fight any Cabinet changes that would single them out.
"We will not give up our share and any of our ministerial posts under any circumstances unless all other blocs are subjected to the same procedure," said saleh al ukali, head of Sadrist faction in parliament, where the bloc controls 30 of the 275 seats.
An adviser to said 10 of the 39 ministry posts soon would be replaced - including five of the six ministers loyal to al-Sadr.Relations between al-Sadr and the government are already tense. Late last year, the prime minister withdrew his official protection for al-Sadr and the Mahdi Army and allowed U.S.-led forces to close in. Al-Sadr also opened the door for U.S. and Iraqi troops to enter the Mahdi stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad - under a painstaking deal with authorities - but his loyalists are still being hunted outside the capital.
In other violence, gunmen opened fire on Shiite pilgrims in several places around Baghdad, killing at least seven people, police said.
Al-Sadr's followers also warned they would fight any Cabinet changes that would single them out.
An adviser to Nouri al-maliki said 10 of the 39 ministry posts soon would be replaced - including five of the six ministers loyal to al-Sadr. The adviser Relations between al-Sadr and the government are already tense.
The violence - after a relative three-day lull in Baghdad - was seen as another salvo in the Sunni extremist campaign to provoke a sectarian civil war that could tear apart the Shiite-led government and erase Washington's plans for Iraq.
The troops plan to establish outposts in Sadr City that will bring together Iraqi police, military and U.S.-led forces, said U.S. Brig. Gen. Terry Wolff, who oversees training of Iraqi soldiers.
Al-Sadr also opened the door for U.S. and Iraqi troops to enter the Mahdi stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad - under a painstaking deal with authorities - but his loyalists are still being hunted outside the capital. A worker at a nearby shoe store, yussof haider , 24, said the blast flipped burning cars with charred bodies trapped inside.
In other violence, gunmen opened fire on Shiite pilgrims in several places around Baghdad, killing at least seven people, police said. Attacks on soldiers in some Shiite districts are also down sharply.Al-Sadr's followers also warned they would fight any Cabinet changes that would single them out.
"We will not give up our share and any of our ministerial posts under any circumstances unless all other blocs are subjected to the same procedure," said saleh al ukali, head of Sadrist faction in parliament, where the bloc controls 30 of the 275 seats.
An adviser to said 10 of the 39 ministry posts soon would be replaced - including five of the six ministers loyal to al-Sadr.Relations between al-Sadr and the government are already tense. Late last year, the prime minister withdrew his official protection for al-Sadr and the Mahdi Army and allowed U.S.-led forces to close in. Al-Sadr also opened the door for U.S. and Iraqi troops to enter the Mahdi stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad - under a painstaking deal with authorities - but his loyalists are still being hunted outside the capital.
In other violence, gunmen opened fire on Shiite pilgrims in several places around Baghdad, killing at least seven people, police said.
Al-Sadr's followers also warned they would fight any Cabinet changes that would single them out.
An adviser to Nouri al-maliki said 10 of the 39 ministry posts soon would be replaced - including five of the six ministers loyal to al-Sadr. The adviser Relations between al-Sadr and the government are already tense.
The violence - after a relative three-day lull in Baghdad - was seen as another salvo in the Sunni extremist campaign to provoke a sectarian civil war that could tear apart the Shiite-led government and erase Washington's plans for Iraq.
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