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Blast kills 5 on Iraqi holy day
Source: Agencies |
December 28, 2009, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A BLAST in northeastern Iraq killed five people yesterday in a crowd of pilgrims who had gathered for the most important Shiite religious observance of the year, authorities said.
It was the latest in a string of attacks targeting Shiites during the 10 days of religious ceremonies that reached their high point yesterday.
The roadside bomb in the town of Tuz Khormato wounded 28 people, police and medical officials said.
Yesterday's commemorations marked the climax of Ashoura, the yearly mourning period in which Shiite Muslims remember the seventh century death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, in Karbala.
Pilgrims traveling to the holy city and others preparing for commemorations elsewhere in Iraq over the past week have come under repeated attack.
Insurgents are seeking to re-ignite sectarian violence that brought the country to the brink of civil war two years ago. Dozens have been killed and more than 150 injured.
Othman al-Ghanimi, the Iraqi provincial police chief in charge of Karbala, said he was expecting up to 3 million visitors, including foreign pilgrims from other Muslim countries, such as Iran, Bahrain and Kuwait.
The Iraqi government has flooded the area in and around Karbala with 25,000 extra security personnel.
American forces provided explosives-detecting equipment and were offering air support, al-Ghanimi said. He added that the city was encircled by four rings of security. Al-Ghanimi said Iraqi authorities had already thwarted some attempted attacks against pilgrims.
As security has tightened in Karbala over the years, insurgents have begun attacking pilgrims as they travel to and from the city.
It was the latest in a string of attacks targeting Shiites during the 10 days of religious ceremonies that reached their high point yesterday.
The roadside bomb in the town of Tuz Khormato wounded 28 people, police and medical officials said.
Yesterday's commemorations marked the climax of Ashoura, the yearly mourning period in which Shiite Muslims remember the seventh century death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, in Karbala.
Pilgrims traveling to the holy city and others preparing for commemorations elsewhere in Iraq over the past week have come under repeated attack.
Insurgents are seeking to re-ignite sectarian violence that brought the country to the brink of civil war two years ago. Dozens have been killed and more than 150 injured.
Othman al-Ghanimi, the Iraqi provincial police chief in charge of Karbala, said he was expecting up to 3 million visitors, including foreign pilgrims from other Muslim countries, such as Iran, Bahrain and Kuwait.
The Iraqi government has flooded the area in and around Karbala with 25,000 extra security personnel.
American forces provided explosives-detecting equipment and were offering air support, al-Ghanimi said. He added that the city was encircled by four rings of security. Al-Ghanimi said Iraqi authorities had already thwarted some attempted attacks against pilgrims.
As security has tightened in Karbala over the years, insurgents have begun attacking pilgrims as they travel to and from the city.
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