http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/11/201011872139418613.html
Pilgrims killed in Iraq bombings Iranian pilgrims targeted in twin attacks near Karbala and in Najaf, both Shia holy cities. Last Modified: 08 Nov 2010 21:52 GMT Twin bombings targeting Iranian pilgrims have killed at least 13 people in Iraq's holy Shia cities of Karbala and Najaf. In the first attack a bus carrying pilgrims was hit by a bomb explosion in Touirij town near Karbala in central Iraq, killing at least 10 people and injuring another 38 on Monday. In the second incident, a car bomb exploded near buses transporting Iranian pilgrims in the city of Najaf, killing at least three people and wounding 10 others. The revered Imam Ali shrine in Najaf attracts hundreds of thousands of Shia Muslims from Iraq, Iran and other countries every year. According to officials, the first explosion occurred at a parking lot in the northern part of the Karbala. "It was a suicide bomber who drove up against a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims and detonated the explosives," a police official told AFP news agency. The explosion wounded another 38 people, most of them Iranians, hospital officials said. Mohammed al-Moussawi, head of the Kerbala provincial council, said that the Iranian pilgrims were the targets of the attack. Some 1,500 pilgrims from neighbouring Iran visit Shia shrines in Iraq a day, mainly in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. Separate attack Also on Monday, a car bomb exploded in the southern city of Basra killing at least 12 people and wounding 39 others. The blast happened near a busy street filled with restaurants and shops in the city's Qibla district. Political tensions in Iraq have been stoked by the failure of its leaders to agree on a new government eight months after an inconclusive election. Nouri al-Maliki, the incumbent prime minister, a Shia, is close to securing a second term but is still trying to win over leaders of a Sunni-backed cross-sectarian alliance. The attacks come ahead of the Islamic month of Muharram, in which Shia Muslims mourn the historic battle of Karbala. ++++ http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/11/2010111081934395118.html Christians killed in Iraq attacks A string of roadside bombs in Baghdad kills at least three people and leaves another 24 injured. Last Modified: 10 Nov 2010 09:26 GMT At least 14 roadside bombs exploded across the city on Wednesday [Al Jazeera] A series of bomb and mortar attacks targeting Christians have killed three people and injured 24 others in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, according to police sources. Attackers detonated at least 14 roadside bombs across the city on Wednesday morning and a mortar round struck in the southern Doura district. "These operations, which targeted Christians, came as a continuation of the [October 31] attack that targeted the Salvation church," an Iraqi interior ministry source said. The official referred to the October 31 attack that killed more than 50 people at a Catholic cathedral in the capital. Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh, reporting from Baghdad, said Christians in Iraq have been a typical target of al-Qaeda fighters following the US-led invasion in March 2003. "We have seen Christians fleeing Iraq between 2004 and 2006. Their numbers now are down to a third," she said. "This is a stepped-up attack to revive the chaos that has affected the Christian community in the past." Tensions have been running high in Iraq since the inconclusive parliamentary elections in March left Shia, Sunni and Kurdish political factions rallying support for a new government and raising fears of renewed violence. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/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/
