http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/13/mideast/iraq.php
A Shiite woman crying after a suicide bomb attack targeted pilgrims in Mussayab, Iraq on Friday. (Reuters) Suicide bomber kills 32 in attack on Shiite pilgrims in Iraq By Marc Santora Published: February 13, 2009 BAGHDAD: A female suicide bomber with explosives hidden under her garments blew herself up in a crowd of Shiite pilgrims south of Baghdad on Friday, killing 32 people, including many women and children. It was the deadliest in a series of attacks directed at Shiite pilgrims in recent days, which Iraqi and western officials said were aimed at stoking sectarian violence. "Burned corpses were everywhere," said Abu Islam, 40, who lives near where the explosion took place. "They were mostly kids and women because the bomber targeted the tents of women." For the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, which has been widely credited with making significant improvements in security over the past year, the pilgrimage represents an opportunity to showcase the efficiency of its security forces. But after the recent spate of attacks, including four in Baghdad alone this week targeting pilgrims, his government is facing criticism. "There have been failures in the intelligence gathering of the security agencies," said Sheikh Sabah al-Saedi, the head of the anti-corruption committee in Parliament and a member of a rival party. "You can't really control a woman that walks with thousands of marchers," he said, noting that the area had been a frequent target of extremists. "But you can fight this phenomenon with intelligence gathering." The pilgrims are going to Karbala to commemorate Arbaeen, which marks the end of the mourning period for Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Along the route volunteers set up tents for weary travelers and tables to distribute tea, crackers and dates. Music blares from speakers as men chant prayers and pound their chests, seeking to experience suffering to bring them closer to the religion's martyrs. Along the highway out of Baghdad, checkpoints have been set up every few miles with army soldiers, national police, local police and other security forces lining the road, with a security guard posted about every 100 feet, or 30 meters. There is little visible presence of U.S. forces but senior Iraqi Army officials said they were playing an important role in surveillance and intelligence gathering. Iraqi officials estimate that about 12 million pilgrims will be in Karbala on Monday for the culmination of the commemoration. Any additional violence during the pilgrimage could undermine Maliki's government. For that reason, perhaps, the government has played down the significance of the attacks. On a state-run television station, the incident was mentioned briefly only at the end of its evening news broadcast. Lieutenant General Ali Ghaydan, the commander of ground forces across Iraq, conceded that even with 40,000 Army troops dedicated to the pilgrim's protection, it was impossible to prevent every attack. "We have deployed a huge number of forces, but it is always hard to distinguish one female suicide bomber among hundreds of thousands of women and that is why they target such places," he said during an interview. The woman who blew herself up Friday had been trying to get to the center of Abu Jasim village in al-Musaib, security officials said. When she got stopped at a checkpoint, she went to a tent that had been set up for women and children and set off the explosives, according to Iraqi officials. The local hospital, with only 50 beds, was quickly overwhelmed, said Ahmed Ajrish, an official in the local health ministry. About 76 people, including 28 children, were rushed to a larger hospital in the city of Hilla, south of Baghdad, he said. In the past, such attacks were often the work of Sunni extremists linked to the insurgent group Al Qaeda in Iraq, which includes both Iraqis and foreigners. The area where the bombing took place, about 110 kilometers, or 70 miles, south of Baghdad, has been a frequent target of extremists in the past, security officials said. While the attack appeared designed to stoke sectarian tension, the motives behind other attacks this week on Shiite pilgrims seemed less clear. On Thursday, despite a virtual lockdown of the city of Karbala by security forces, militants were able to set off a bomb just 200 meters, or 650 feet, from the Imam Hussein shrine, one of the most revered mosques among Shiites. In another attack Friday, a gunman shot and killed two pilgrims outside Hilla. Lieutenant General Ghaydan said that attack was part of an internal struggle for power among Shiite factions, which have battled for control of the city in the past. Despite the risks - attacks on Shiites during the Arbaeen pilgrimage have occurred every year since the U.S. invasion in 2003 - the faithful remain undeterred. "If they chopped off our arms and legs, we would come crawling to you, master Hussein," said Ahmed Yassir, who had heard the news of the attack as he walked Friday. Contributing to this report were Sam Dagher in Baghdad, an employee of the New York Times in Babil Province and an employee of the New York Times in Diwaniya Province. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
