Insurgents in Iraq continued their attacks Friday, killing at least 22 people in and around Baghdad. Since the current wave of attacks began on Wednesday, more than 200 people have been killed.
The intensified attacks followed the release of an audiotape message on Wednesday, that purported to be from terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, declaring war on Iraq's Shi'ites. On Friday, a suicide car bomber killed at least 10 people and wounded more than 20 at a Shi'ite mosque. Other bombings and shootings claimed at least 12 other lives, including those of a Shi'ite cleric and a mayor.
Meanwhile, near the western border with Syria, the U.S. military reports its warplanes bombed buildings used by suspected terrorists in the cities of Karabilah and Haditha, destroying the sites and killing nine militants.