BAGHDAD, April 17: A suicide bomber struck a funeral in Iraq on Thursday, killing 49 mourners and wounding 55 in an attack that suggests militants have launched a new campaign of violence in the north.

Survivors said the funeral had been for two members of a US-backed neighbourhood security unit who were killed on Wednesday. Blame is likely to fall on the Al Qaeda, which has vowed to target the neighbourhood units because they work with US forces.The attack was one of the deadliest in Iraq for months and underscored the ability of militants to wreak havoc despite overall decline in violence that has prompted the United States to consider withdrawing troops from Iraq.

Police said the bomber detonated a suicide vest after entering the funeral tent in a Sunni Arab village near the town of Adhaim in the Diyala province. “Suddenly a fireball filled the funeral tent. I fell to the ground.

“I saw bodies scattered everywhere,” said wounded mourner Ali Khalaf, who was taken to a hospital in the nearby town of Tuz Khurmato for treatment.

Outside a hospital in the northern city of Kirkuk, where pickup trucks took many of the bodies, frantic relatives gathered to look for their loves ones. Several women wearing black robes sat on the ground, wailing.

Northern Iraq has seen an upsurge in bombings this week, including one that killed 40 people in the town of Baquba, capital of Diyala province, on Tuesday.

The US-backed neighbourhood security units, called “Concerned Local Citizens” by the US military, have been credited with helping to bring down violence in Iraq.

Around 90,000 men, mainly Sunni Arabs and including some former militants, have been recruited. They largely man checkpoints and provide intelligence tips to the US military.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, in a speech during a trip to Brussels on Wednesday, said Iraq was “near to announcing victory over the terrorist organisation Al Qaeda”. But US commanders say that while Al Qaeda has been significantly weakened, it still has the capability to carry out big attacks.

In Baghdad, meanwhile, fresh battles erupted overnight, officials said.—Reuters