The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Baghdad

Twin car bombs targeted a meeting of Sunni tribal leaders Monday, killing as many as 22 people in the latest attack against U.S. allies who have turned against al-Qaida in Iraq.

The U.S. military blamed al-Qaida in Iraq.

The attackers managed to penetrate heavy security to leave bomb-rigged cars near a Baghdad compound hosting chieftains from the western Anbar province, where the so-called Awakening Council movement against al-Qaida emerged last year.

The blasts were also near the offices of one of Iraq's most powerful Shiite politicians, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim. But Iraqi authorities said the apparent target was the Sunni tribal heads.

Insurgents - either led or inspired by al-Qaida - have stepped up assaults against fellow Sunnis who are credited with helping drive out extremists from key parts of Baghdad and surrounding areas. Sheik Ali Hatem al-Sulaiman, deputy chief of Anbar province's biggest Sunni tribe and a leading member of the Anbar Awakening Council, said six of their bodyguards were among those killed.