More than 600 killed in Iraq stampede Aljazeera Wednesday 31 August 2005, 13:04 Makka Time, 10:04 GMT http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D9E6B75E-4CA8-4421-8AC6-4525994C3A06.htm
- photo: A video grabs shows victims of the stampede in Baghdad http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/rdonlyres/D9E6B75E-4CA8-4421-8AC6-4525994C3A06/89736/4475B492B4854E61A60E62D1C5CF023D.jpg - Hundreds of people have died after a stampede triggered by rumours of a bomber among a massive Iraqi Shia crowd attending a religious ceremony at a shrine in Baghdad. The toll at 1.45pm (0945 GMT) was 640, according to an Interior Ministry spokesman. A railing on the bridge collapsed sending crowds tumbling into the Tigris River on Wednesday. There was confusion over what caused the railing to collapse, but police said there were unconfirmed rumours that the stampede may have been caused by someone in the crowd shouting that there was a bomber in the crowd. "Dozens of pilgrims fell in the river Tigris as they panicked following rumours of the presence of two suicide bombers in the crowd, while they were crossing al-Aaimmah bridge near the mosque," a source said. - "We have lost count, we have hundreds and hundreds of dead and injured" Health Ministry official - Iraq's Deputy Health Minister Jalil al-Shammari confirmed that hundreds had been killed. One hospital said it had received at least 100 bodies by 12.30pm. The hospital source said bodies were being sent to two other nearby hospitals as well. "We have lost count, we have hundreds and hundreds of dead and injured," a Health Ministry official said. "We can't tell how many are dead. Many bodies are still in the river," the official added. Mortar attack Tensions were running high after a mortar and rocket attack more than two hours earlier killed at least seven people and injured at least 40 near the Imam Musa al-Kadhim shrine in the city's heavily Shia Kazamiya district. A medical officer at Baghdad's al-Kadhimiya hospital said half of the wounded in the mortar attack were women. US Apache helicopters fired on the attackers who launched the rockets, a US statement said. Television pictures and reports said about one million pilgrims were heading to the mosque on Wednesday to commemorate the death of al-Kadhim, a revered religious figure among the Shia. Six other people were wounded in a separate attack when attackers opened fire on Shia pilgrims in Baghdad's al-Adhamiya neighbourhood, an Interior Ministry source said. http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D9E6B75E-4CA8-4421-8AC6-4525994C3A06.htm ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/TXWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamcity/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
