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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
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February 5th,
2010 - Mortar Bomb Kills 27, Wounds 56 in Iraq’s Karbala News article from Agence France
Presse |
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Mortar Bomb Kills 27, Wounds
56 in Iraq’s Karbala From Agence France Presse February 5, 2010 Karbala, Iraq - A mortar
bomb killed at least 27 people and wounded dozens on Friday three kilometres
(two miles) east of the central Iraqi shrine city of Karbala, governor
Amalheddin al-Hir told AFP. "A mortar round was
launched from fields northeast of the city," he said. "Twenty-seven people
were killed and 56 wounded. I accuse Al-Qaeda who are being supported by the
Baath party," Hir added, referring to the outlawed political movement of
executed dictator Saddam Hussein. Police Major Alaa Abbas
earlier told AFP that the mortar round struck Shiite pilgrims leaving the
city after attending a major mourning ceremony. More than one million
pilgrims thronged Karbala, 110 kilometres south of Baghdad, for the climax of
Arbaeen, with thousands of security forces on high alert for suicide attacks. Arbaeen marks 40 days after
the Ashura anniversary commemorating the slaying of Imam Hussein, one of
Shiite Islam's most revered figures, by the armies of the Sunni caliph Yazid
in 680 AD. Dozens of pilgrims have been
killed in recent days as they made their way to Karbala on foot to make the
rituals. Copyright © 2010 AFP. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i7EUVwFAf8ilUBrPV8GOLB46Zruw 27 killed in
Iraq suicide attack From the Press Association February 5, 2010 A suicide attacker detonated
a car bomb alongside a crowd of Shia pilgrims, killing at least 27 people and
wounding more than 70, Iraqi police officials said. It was the third deadly
bombing this week in the ceremony in which hundreds of thousands of Shia
Muslims have been converging on Karbala, a holy city south of Baghdad. This week's violence took
place as Iraqi politicians argued over an effort to bar hundreds of
candidates from running in the March 7 parliamentary elections because of
suspected ties to Saddam Hussein's regime. Two mortar rounds hit the
same area after the car bomb exploded, an official said, adding that the
death toll was likely to rise. The attack came at the
height of the pilgrimage when roads around Karbala, 50 miles south of
Baghdad, were clogged with people trying to reach the city, another police
official said. The crowds made it difficult
for ambulances to get to the wounded, he said. The attack in Karbala was
just a short distance from where a motorcycle bomb exploded two days earlier,
killing dozens. On Monday, a female suicide bomber killed at least 54
pilgrims in an attack just north of Baghdad. Iraqi security forces have
increased protection for pilgrims but face huge challenges trying to find a
single attacker in the crowds. Copyright © 2010 The Press
Association. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5j7p7golDp5Ox6088-8K6W9xH9TLQ |