At least 18 killed as bombings rock Iraq
Source: Agencies |
January 25, 2011, Tuesday
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TWO car bombs struck Shiite pilgrims yesterday in an Iraqi holy city, killing at least 18 people as crowds massed for religious rituals marking the end of a 40-day mourning period for the branch of Islam's most beloved saint.
The blasts in Karbala were the latest in nearly a week of attacks that have killed at least 159 people. The surge in violence has shattered a lengthy period of calm and raised fresh concerns about the readiness of Iraqi forces to take over their own security ahead of a full withdrawal by the United States military.
The first attack occurred about 7am in a parking lot near busloads of pilgrims on the eastern outskirts of Karbala, 90 kilometers south of Baghdad. Police and hospital officials said that six pilgrims were killed and 34 people wounded in that attack.
A second bomb was discovered nearby and dismantled before it could explode, police said.
More than four hours later, a second car bomb struck pilgrims on the southern edge of the city, killing at least 12 people, including 10 pilgrims and two soldiers, and wounding 21, the officials said.
There is a vehicle ban in Karbala for the holy period so pilgrims are dropped off at parking lots and walk in.
Yesterday's attacks followed a triple suicide bombing last week along two highways leading to Karbala that killed 56 and wounded at least 180 - most of them were Shiite pilgrims.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims were gathering in Karbala for yesterday's ceremonies, marking the end of Arbaeen, a 40-day mourning period to observe the seventh century death of the Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson.
His death in battle near Karbala sealed Islam's historic Sunni-Shiite split - the ancient divide that provided the backdrop for the sectarian bloodshed in Iraq that came after the 2003 war.
No group claimed responsibility for yesterday's blast, but car bombs and suicide attacks are the trademark of al-Qaida in Iraq and other Sunni religious extremists.
Those groups have frequently targeted Shiites in a bit to reignite violence that pushed the country to the brink of civil war.
Also yesterday, police said two bombs in Baghdad killed an Iraqi Army intelligence officer and his driver and wounded eight bystanders in separate strikes that hit a Shiite and a Sunni neighborhood. Hospital officials in Baghdad confirmed the fatalities.
A roadside bomb exploded near Tikrit as Salahuddin provincial Governor Ahmed Abdullah al-Jubouri's motorcade was driving by, wounding five of his bodyguards, said police spokesman Colonel Hatam Akram. The governor was not hurt in the blast.
The blasts in Karbala were the latest in nearly a week of attacks that have killed at least 159 people. The surge in violence has shattered a lengthy period of calm and raised fresh concerns about the readiness of Iraqi forces to take over their own security ahead of a full withdrawal by the United States military.
The first attack occurred about 7am in a parking lot near busloads of pilgrims on the eastern outskirts of Karbala, 90 kilometers south of Baghdad. Police and hospital officials said that six pilgrims were killed and 34 people wounded in that attack.
A second bomb was discovered nearby and dismantled before it could explode, police said.
More than four hours later, a second car bomb struck pilgrims on the southern edge of the city, killing at least 12 people, including 10 pilgrims and two soldiers, and wounding 21, the officials said.
There is a vehicle ban in Karbala for the holy period so pilgrims are dropped off at parking lots and walk in.
Yesterday's attacks followed a triple suicide bombing last week along two highways leading to Karbala that killed 56 and wounded at least 180 - most of them were Shiite pilgrims.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims were gathering in Karbala for yesterday's ceremonies, marking the end of Arbaeen, a 40-day mourning period to observe the seventh century death of the Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson.
His death in battle near Karbala sealed Islam's historic Sunni-Shiite split - the ancient divide that provided the backdrop for the sectarian bloodshed in Iraq that came after the 2003 war.
No group claimed responsibility for yesterday's blast, but car bombs and suicide attacks are the trademark of al-Qaida in Iraq and other Sunni religious extremists.
Those groups have frequently targeted Shiites in a bit to reignite violence that pushed the country to the brink of civil war.
Also yesterday, police said two bombs in Baghdad killed an Iraqi Army intelligence officer and his driver and wounded eight bystanders in separate strikes that hit a Shiite and a Sunni neighborhood. Hospital officials in Baghdad confirmed the fatalities.
A roadside bomb exploded near Tikrit as Salahuddin provincial Governor Ahmed Abdullah al-Jubouri's motorcade was driving by, wounding five of his bodyguards, said police spokesman Colonel Hatam Akram. The governor was not hurt in the blast.
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