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| Iraq |
| Seven killed as pilgrims flock to Baghdad |
| 2008-07-27 |
| GUNMEN shot dead seven pilgrims heading to a holy Shiite shrine in Baghdad today despite tight security for a major religious ceremony expected to attract up to one million worshippers. The seven men were gunned down in the town of Madin, just south of the Iraqi capital, police said, and a doctor at a Baghdad hospital confirmed receiving their bodies. Up to a million pilgrims are expected to flock to Baghdad for a major Shiite festival on Tuesday that commemorates revered imam Mussa Kadhim who died 12 centuries ago. Security is especially tight at the Kadhimiyah mosque in north-western Baghdad, where Kadhim is said to be buried and which has been the site of attacks in the past. In August 2005, at least 965 people died in a stampede at a Baghdad bridge seen as a symbol of Kadhim's death, triggered by rumours that a suicide bomber was in their midst and following a mortar attack on the mosque that killed seven people. Wary of more insurgent attacks this year, the authorities in Baghdad have stepped up security measures for the festival, although pilgrims are flocking to the capital amid an overall drop in violence. |
| Posted by:tipper |