Saturday, July 16, 2011

Iraq News: Explosion during Shia pilgrimage in Karbala kills one

Bomb attacks hit Iraqi holy city and capital
Explosion during Shia pilgrimage in Karbala kills one, while another blast wounds six in Baghdad.

Last Modified: 16 Jul 2011 11:00
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Saturday's attack is Karbala's third in the last two days, amid annual Shia pilgrimage to the holy city
Bomb attacks have struck Karbala, a Shia pilgrimage site, and the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killing at least one person, officials said.


A bomb attached to a parked car in central Karbala, located 90km south of Baghdad, exploded on Saturday morning, killing one person and injuring 27 others, sources at the Karbala general hospital told Al Jazeera.


A roadside bomb injured six in Baghdad's central Karrada neighbourhood later on Saturday, Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh reported from the capital.


The Baghdad attack was aimed at the general public without specific targets, Rageh reported.
Saturday's blast in Karbala was the third attack in the last two days on the holy city, as Shia pilgrims headed to visit the Imam al-Hussein shrine there to commemorate the birth of Imam Mohammed al-Mahdi.


The anniversary has become one of the annual pilgrimages that show strength for Iraq's majority Shia since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.


Saddam banned Shia religious rites during his rule. Since his toppling, Sunni Islamists have frequently targeted Shias.


Unlike in previous years, the Shia pilgrimages in recent months have largely gone by without incidents. But this pilgrimage in Karbala has been the target of repeated attacks.


The latest blast occurred near a security checkpoint 80km southwest of Baghdad, and most of the casualties were police officers, police and provincial council officials said.


On Friday, a car bomb exploded in a garage near a hospital west of Karbala. Police said four people were killed and 20 wounded.


Separately, a bomb placed under a parked car killed two people and wounded four others in northern Karbala on Friday, according to an army commander, while a hospital source said the blast killed three people and wounded 23 others.


Last year, car bombs killed and wounded scores of people during the Imam Mahdi observance.


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english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/07/2011716728707355.html

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