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Baquba mosque bombings kill 4Toll in Iraq mortar attack now 2 Marines dead, 22 wounded
 Iraqis worship during weekly Friday prayers at the Sunni Sheikh Abdul Qader Kilani mosque in Baghdad. RELATED
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YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSBAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Two homemade bombs exploded Friday at two Sunni mosques in Baquba, 37 miles (60 kilometers) north of Baghdad, killing four people and wounding six others, police said. The attacks occurred around 2 p.m. after Friday prayers, as worshippers were leaving, police said. On Thursday night, bombers attacked the Imam al Sharif Al Radhey shrine, a Shiite mosque in the city, detonating explosives placed around the dome, police said. Shiite pilgrims frequently visit the shrine. It's unclear if there were any casualties. A day earlier, a car bomb killed at least 26 people in a marketplace near a mosque in Huwaider, a Shiite town about 5 miles (8 kilometers) north of Baquba. One week ago, a massive suicide attack on a Shiite mosque in Baghdad killed 81 people and wounded 160. Hostilities between Shiites and Sunnis have escalated since the February 22 bombing of Al-Askariya Mosque, a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra. As the attacks continue, Iraqis are fleeing their homes. In the past two weeks alone, the number of Iraqis leaving for safer parts of the country has more than doubled to 65,000, the Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration said Thursday. A ministry spokesman said there were 30,000 internal refugees estimated on March 30. The ministry put the number of families on the move at 10,991. Most of the refugees are women and children, said an Iraq Red Crescent Society official. "We are very concerned about communicable diseases in the camps that have formed, like cholera and typhoid," the official said. "This exponential increase of refugees is quite disturbing." The refugee situation and bloodshed come amid a deadlock by Iraqi leaders over the formation of a national unity government, a step the United States considers necessary before its troops can begin to pull out. Marines in critical conditionA mortar attack by insurgents this week on a group of Marines building an observation post northeast of Falluja has left two Marines dead and 22 others wounded, according to a statement issued by the U.S. military. The military earlier had reported 15 Marines had been wounded in the attack. Members of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were building an observation post for the Iraq army Thursday about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northeast of Falluja -- in the sprawling, Sunni-dominated Anbar province west of Baghdad -- when they were attacked by insurgents, the military said. The dead Marines weren't identified, pending notification of their families. One was assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, the other to Regimental Combat Team 5, the statement said. Two Marines were in critical condition after being evacuated to a medical facility in Balad, where six others were listed in stable condition, the statement said. Six Marines were treated at a medical facility at Camp Falluja and returned to duty; four others were being held there for observation. Four other Marines received minor wounds, the statement said. All of the wounded were assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5. "Our hearts go out to the families of the dead and wounded Marines," said Lt. Col. Bryan Salas, a Marine spokesman. "Our wounded Marines are receiving the best care available, and we look forward to their speedy recovery." Bush backs RumsfeldAmid calls by several retired generals for Donald Rumsfeld to step down as defense secretary, U.S. President Bush on Friday issued a statement reiterating his "full support and deepest appreciation" of Rumsfeld. The president said he had spoken earlier in the day with Rumsfeld, who has held the post since Bush took office in 2001. "I reiterated my strong support for his leadership during this historic and challenging time for our nation," he said in a written statement. Six retired generals, including three who commanded troops in Iraq under Rumsfeld's leadership, have publicly stated their criticism of Rumsfeld's leadership and called for his resignation. (Full story) Other developmentsCNN's Sadik Auday contributed to this report. Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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