BEIRUT - The Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah appealed to Iraqis on Friday to remain united and avoid "the occupier's trap", a day after an anti-Shiite suicide bomb blast in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul killed 47 people.
"Such grave and suspicious acts are aimed at all components of the Iraqi people, without exception," Hezbollah said in a statement.
It warned against "falling into the occupier's trap" and urged Iraqis "to work unceasingly for unity in the face of plots hatched against them".
Hezbollah denounced "the criminal and abominable act that targeted the faithful gathered in a mosque in Mosul," which it said was designed to "provoke confessional sedition and only serves the interest of the Iraqi occupier who wants to maintain his occupation."
Apart from the 47 killed, more than 80 people were wounded in the suicide bombing as mourners gathered next to the Sadreen mosque, where a funeral service was being held for Hisham al-Araji, a representative for radical Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr.
Iraq has been ravaged by violence following the US invasion and occupation of the country in March 2003.
03/11/2005 17:44 GMT