Bomb attacks kill at least 24 people in Iraq
Source: Agencies |
January 18, 2013, Friday
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INSURGENTS unleashed a string of bomb attacks mainly targeting Shiite Muslim pilgrims across Iraq yesterday, killing at least 24 people and extending a wave of deadly bloodshed into a second day.
The violence followed nearly two weeks of relative calm and threatened to fuel rising tension among Iraq's ethnic and sectarian groups. Shiite pilgrims are a favorite target for Sunni insurgents who seek to undermine the country's Shiite-led government and provoke sectarian fighting.
The worst attack was near Dujail, 80 kilometers north of Baghdad, where a pair of car bombs exploded near pilgrims who were walking to a shrine in the town of Samarra. Police said 11 people were killed and over 60 were injured.
"We heard thunderous explosions, and everybody went outside and saw burning cars and several bodies on the ground. Market stalls on both sides of the road were on fire," said Naseer Hadi, who works in the Dujail post office.
The pilgrims were heading to Samarra to commemorate the death of two prominent Shiite Imams who are buried there in the al-Askari shrine.
A 2006 bombing at the gold-domed shrine that was blamed on al-Qaida in Iraq sparked years of retaliatory bloodshed between Sunni and Shiite extremists. The violence left thousands of Iraqis dead and pushed the country to the brink of civil war.
The attacks in Dujail came hours after a car bomb struck a bus carrying foreign pilgrims near the southern Shiite holy city of Karbala. Four people were killed and 12 were wounded in that attack.
The explosion tore through the undercarriage of the white and blue tour bus and blew out most of its windows. Nusaif al-Kitabi, deputy chairman of the Karbala provincial council, said the bus was carrying pilgrims from Afghanistan.
In the town of Qassim, 125 kilometers south of Baghdad, a bomb placed in a parked car exploded near a bus stop, killing seven people and wounding 28. The casualties included Shiite pilgrims who were heading to Karbala.
In northeastern Baghdad, a roadside bomb apparently targeting an army patrol struck a civilian car instead, killing two passengers.
Yesterday's bloodshed came a day after a wave of attacks killed at least 33 people across Iraq in the country's deadliest day in more than a month.
The worst of Wednesday's attacks was in Kirkuk where a car bomb exploded outside the offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, killing 19.
The violence followed nearly two weeks of relative calm and threatened to fuel rising tension among Iraq's ethnic and sectarian groups. Shiite pilgrims are a favorite target for Sunni insurgents who seek to undermine the country's Shiite-led government and provoke sectarian fighting.
The worst attack was near Dujail, 80 kilometers north of Baghdad, where a pair of car bombs exploded near pilgrims who were walking to a shrine in the town of Samarra. Police said 11 people were killed and over 60 were injured.
"We heard thunderous explosions, and everybody went outside and saw burning cars and several bodies on the ground. Market stalls on both sides of the road were on fire," said Naseer Hadi, who works in the Dujail post office.
The pilgrims were heading to Samarra to commemorate the death of two prominent Shiite Imams who are buried there in the al-Askari shrine.
A 2006 bombing at the gold-domed shrine that was blamed on al-Qaida in Iraq sparked years of retaliatory bloodshed between Sunni and Shiite extremists. The violence left thousands of Iraqis dead and pushed the country to the brink of civil war.
The attacks in Dujail came hours after a car bomb struck a bus carrying foreign pilgrims near the southern Shiite holy city of Karbala. Four people were killed and 12 were wounded in that attack.
The explosion tore through the undercarriage of the white and blue tour bus and blew out most of its windows. Nusaif al-Kitabi, deputy chairman of the Karbala provincial council, said the bus was carrying pilgrims from Afghanistan.
In the town of Qassim, 125 kilometers south of Baghdad, a bomb placed in a parked car exploded near a bus stop, killing seven people and wounding 28. The casualties included Shiite pilgrims who were heading to Karbala.
In northeastern Baghdad, a roadside bomb apparently targeting an army patrol struck a civilian car instead, killing two passengers.
Yesterday's bloodshed came a day after a wave of attacks killed at least 33 people across Iraq in the country's deadliest day in more than a month.
The worst of Wednesday's attacks was in Kirkuk where a car bomb exploded outside the offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, killing 19.
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