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| Iraq |
| Fifteen killed in Baghdad on last day of Shia holiday |
| 2010-07-09 |
| [Dawn] At least 15 people were killed Thursday by bombs targeting the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who defied violence to take part in the final day of a Shia religious holiday, officials said. The deaths came one day after nearly 60 people were killed in attacks in and around the Iraqi capital, most of them by a suicide bomber who targeted pilgrims heading to a mosque in northern Baghdad to mark the anniversary of the death of a revered Shia figure. While violence in Iraq has plummeted since the height of the insurgency a few years ago, the attacks targeting devout Shia's who walk from across Iraq to take part in the holy occasion underscore the tentative nature of the security gains and the persistent attempts by insurgents to once again foment sectarian divisions. The attacks come as Iraq is struggling to seat a government a little over four months after the March 7 election failed to bring about a clear winner to lead the country. As opposing political blocs jockey to form a ruling coalition, the ongoing political uncertainty has raised questions about whether insurgents will try to destabilize the country just as American troops are reducing their numbers to 50,000 by the end of August. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks but similar incidents in the past have been blamed on Sunni extremists who view Shia's as nonbelievers and object to the Shia-led government that took over Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who was visiting Lebanon on Thursday, condemned the blasts in Baghdad of the past two days. ''Those who benefit from such acts are the enemies of humanity, the enemies of democracy,'' he said. Six people died in eastern Baghdad and 36 were injured when a roadside bomb exploded Thursday morning as pilgrims were walking home from the mosque in the Kazimiyah neighborhood, while a car bomb in southern Baghdad killed another person. Five more people were killed and 42 injured by a roadside bomb in northern Baghdad, Iraqi hospital and police officials said. And in the afternoon, a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad killed three people and wounded another 21 along a street where religious pilgrims were returning home. Despite the violence, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis continued to stream through the city after visiting the shrine and began their long walk home after the ceremonies peaked earlier Thursday. The pilgrimage, although not the most important among Iraq's Shia-majority, is considered significant. |
| Posted by:Fred |