IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — The number of dead rose to 101
yesterday in the twin suicide bombings of two Kurdish political
offices, the highest confirmed toll in any terrorist attack since
the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Kurds blamed Ansar al-Islam, a militant
group allegedly linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida.

The string of insurgent attacks killed another American soldier
Tuesday and came as U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan met with
President Bush and announced he’ll send a team to Iraq to
break an impasse between the U.S.-led coalition and the Shiite
Muslim clergy over how to transfer power to Iraqis.

In Baghdad, the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority put the
death toll from Sunday’s attacks against the offices of the
Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan at
101, with 133 people still hospitalized.

The attacks — by bombers with explosives wired to their
bodies — were the bloodiest since at least Aug. 29, when a
vehicle bombing outside a Shiite mosque in Najaf killed more than
85 people. Some estimates have placed the Najaf death toll much
higher.

The victims of the earlier attack included Shiite leader
Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim.

U.S. Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said the U.S. investigation has not
determined who was behind the attacks in Irbil, though he would not
rule out either Ansar al-Islam or al-Qaida.

Kimmitt, deputy chief of staff for operations, also said there
had been an average of 23 engagements each day over the past week
between U.S. forces and Iraqi insurgents, a slight increase over
the figure of 18 reported last week.

One American soldier was killed and another was wounded
yesterday when a roadside bomb exploded during an operation to
clear such weapons, the U.S. command said. The explosion happened
near Iskandariyah, 35 miles south of Baghdad.

Earlier yesterday, insurgents fired two rockets at Baghdad
International Airport but caused no casualties, the U.S. military
said. The airport is used as a major base for the military.

West of Baghdad, in Ramadi, witnesses reported insurgents fired
mortars after sundown but caused no damage. Police said they
believed the attack was aimed at the home of Ramadi’s police
chief, Ji’dan Mohammed al-Alwani.

Despite the violence, Annan announced yesterday in Washington
that he had given the final go-ahead to send a team to Iraq to
study the feasibility of early legislative elections as demanded by
the Shiite clergy.

The United States believes security is too precarious for
elections and instead wants legislators to be appointed in regional
caucuses.

The legislature would in turn select a new government to take
power by July 1.

During a meeting at the White House with Bush, Annan said the
U.N. team would work with the Iraqis “in finding the way
forward” and talk to as many Iraqis as possible to
“steer things in the right direction.”

Annan had earlier said he wanted to make sure the team’s
security would be provided.

“I believe that the stability in Iraq is in
everyone’s interest. The U.N. does have a role to
play,” Annan said. Annan noted the differences about how to
establish a provisional government, and said the U.N. team would
try to help resolve those issues.

Bush said the United States was still committed to the June 30
deadline for turning over power and formally ending the
American-led occupation.

“We’ve discussed ways to make sure that by working
together, the Iraqi people can be free, and the country stable and
prosperous, and an example of democracy in the Middle East,”
Bush said. “And the United Nations does have a vital role
there.”

The attack on the PUK office was filmed by the party’s
television station. Cameraman Saadi Sultan Mameh told The
Associated Press that he saw a man dressed in beige trousers and a
blue-and-white checkered shirt shuffle through the crowd to greet
PUK officials on the first day of the Islamic holiday Eid
al-Adha.

As the man shuffled into the camera’s frame to shake hands
with Kurdish official Bakir Jola, Mameh heard a terrific explosion
and “my camera lens went red with blood.”

“All those who died were my friends and colleagues,”
Mameh said yesterday from a mattress on his living room floor where
he was recovering from leg wounds. “We were like
family.”

“I have watched the clip more than 50 times,” Mameh,
27, said. “The only gratification it gives me is that I was
able to film the moment so that the truth would be known. So that
al-Qaida would be exposed. There would be evidence.”