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| Iraq |
| 31 killed, 105 injured in Iraq's twin explosions |
| 2009-12-25 |
| Staggered explosions apparently targeting Shiite Muslim pilgrims killed at least 31 people, including a provincial councilor, and injured 105 others on Thursday, authorities said, raising fears of further sectarian attacks at the approach of Shiite Islam's most solemn holiday. The deaths come three days before the climax of Ashoura. The holiday's observers have frequently been attacked in the past. Police Maj. Muthana Khalid said the first bomb exploded around 2 p.m. Thursday in Hillah, the capital of Babil province, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) south of Baghdad. He said the second explosion came as police rushed to the scene 15 minutes later. The bombs apparently targeted Shiite pilgrims observing Ashoura who had gathered near a bus station in downtown Hillah. "Provincial councilor Neemat al-Bakri and two policemen, were killed in the explosions, which wounded 10 others," an Iraqi source said. Neemat al-Bakri was a member of the multi-confessional alliance formed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to contest parliamentary elections scheduled for March next year. Colonel Taleb al-Chamri, one of the two police officers killed in the blast, was in charge of local efforts to eradicate improvised explosive devices. Thousands of Shiites are expected to converge on the central city of Karbala for the Dec. 27 holiday to mourn the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, killed in 680 A.D. during a battle that sealed the split between Shiites and Sunnis. Hilla, 100 kilometers (62 miles), south of Baghdad, had become a generally quiet area as violence dropped across most of Iraq. Major attacks and ongoing insurgent activity continue in Baghdad and northern Iraq. On Wednesday, 13 people were killed in violence around the country despite security forces ramping up their presence ahead of Christmas and the Shiite commemoration ceremonies of Ashura which culminate on Sunday. The security situation in Iraq has improved dramatically over the past three years, after Sunni tribesmen and former rebels made common cause with the U.S. military against al-Qaeda. The Iraqi government has assigned more than 25,000 police and soldiers to protect pilgrims during the celebrations but has been unable to stop all the attacks. The Shiite holiday was banned under former dictator Saddam Hussein. The majority of Iraqis are Shiites but Saddam's administration was primarily Sunni. |
| Posted by:Fred |