http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/12/AR2011021203 938.html
Suicide bomber kills 38, wounds dozens in Iraq By Sabah al-Bazee Saturday, February 12, 2011; 11:01 PM SAMARRA, IRAQ - A suicide bomber blew himself up Saturday near a crowd of Shiite pilgrims at a bus depot in the northern Iraqi city of Samarra, killing 38 people and wounding scores of others, police and officials said. The attack was the second suicide bombing <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/10/AR201102100 1710.html> in a week near Samarra, where Shiite pilgrims are commemorating the death of one of their 12 revered imams, and it followed a string of recent attacks by insurgents in Iraq <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/countries/iraq.html?nav=el> as U.S. troops prepare to fully withdraw. "It was a suicide bomber wearing an explosives vest," said Ahmed Abdul-Jabbar, deputy governor of Salahuddin province. "An Iraqi soldier at the south entrance of Samarra tried to stop him, but he immediately blew himself up near a bus terminal filled with pilgrims." An Afghan military source in Samarra said the bomber was wearing a vest rigged with at least 22 pounds of explosives. Amir Hadi, mayor of the nearby town of Balad, where some of the injured were taken, said the attack killed 38 people and wounded 74 others. Police in Samarra confirmed the toll. Shiite pilgrims have been targeted frequently in recent years by a weakened but stubborn Sunni insurgency that remains capable of carrying out lethal attacks almost eight years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Sunni president Saddam Hussein. U.S. troops are expected to withdraw by the end of the year. On Thursday, eight people were killed and 30 were wounded when a suicide car bomber attacked a group of Shiite pilgrims heading to Samarra. The pilgrims are gathered in Samarra, about 65 miles north of Baghdad, to mark the death of Hasan al-Askari, the 11th of the 12 imams. Samarra is the home of the al-Askari mosque and shrine. Shiite religious events were banned under Hussein. Security around the city had been tightened ahead of the religious event. No vehicles have been allowed to enter or leave Samarra since Friday, residents said. Saturday's attack occurred by a bus terminal for pilgrims, who have a separate entrance into the city. Residents trying to donate blood after the incident said they were unable to get to the hospital, which had been sealed off by Iraqi security forces. Overall violence has diminished in Iraq since the peak of sectarian warfare in 2006-7, but bombings and attacks still occur daily. Dozens of people died in attacks on Shiite pilgrims last month near the holy city of Karbala, in southern Iraq. On Wednesday, at least seven people were killed and 78 were wounded by three car bombs in the northern city of Kirkuk [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> 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/
