.Iraqis step up measures to protect pilgrims
BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraqi officials deployed 5,000 plainclothes military personnel south of Baghdad on Saturday, beefing up security in an attempt to stop deadly bombings against Shiite pilgrims that have plagued the country over the past three days, police said.
The increased security came a day after a female suicide bomber struck a tent filled with women and children resting during a pilgrimage to the Shiite holy city of Karbala, killing 40 people and wounding about 80 in the deadliest attack in Iraq this year.
The military personnel will monitor suspicious movements among the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims streaming toward Karbala, said Capt. Alaa Abbas Jaafar, press spokesman for the Karbala police.
The government has already deployed 30,000 security personnel in the province that contains Karbala to protect the city, along with 1,500 female security guards to search women and 400 snipers on rooftops, Jaafar said.
Despite the tight security, bombings have killed 60 Shiite pilgrims and wounded 170 over the past three days. The attacks demonstrate the determination of some Sunni extremists to re-ignite sectarian warfare and underscores how fragile security remains here despite a significant decline in overall violence.
The vast numbers of pilgrims and the distances many of them must travel make it extremely difficult to protect.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Al-Qaida and other extremist groups have frequently targeted Shiite pilgrims during religious commemorations, which were severely curtailed under Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime.
U.S. commanders say al-Qaida and other Sunni extremists have been severely weakened in Iraq, but not defeated.
On Thursday, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt packed with nails, killing eight people and wounding more than 50 in Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad.
A day earlier, at least 12 people were killed and more than 40 wounded in a series of bombings in Baghdad targeting pilgrims traveling through the capital on their way to Karbala, where they will be celebrating Monday's end of 40 days of mourning that follow the anniversary of the seventh-century death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein.
He was killed near Karbala in a battle for the leadership of the Muslim nation following Muhammad's death in 632. His death contributed to the split between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
Elsewhere, a roadside bomb killed two civilians and wounded four others, including a soldier, when it exploded Saturday near an Iraqi army patrol in western Mosul, 240 miles (390 kilometers) north of Baghdad, said an Iraqi police official.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information to the news media.
MyWay
The increased security came a day after a female suicide bomber struck a tent filled with women and children resting during a pilgrimage to the Shiite holy city of Karbala, killing 40 people and wounding about 80 in the deadliest attack in Iraq this year.
The military personnel will monitor suspicious movements among the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims streaming toward Karbala, said Capt. Alaa Abbas Jaafar, press spokesman for the Karbala police.
The government has already deployed 30,000 security personnel in the province that contains Karbala to protect the city, along with 1,500 female security guards to search women and 400 snipers on rooftops, Jaafar said.
Despite the tight security, bombings have killed 60 Shiite pilgrims and wounded 170 over the past three days. The attacks demonstrate the determination of some Sunni extremists to re-ignite sectarian warfare and underscores how fragile security remains here despite a significant decline in overall violence.
The vast numbers of pilgrims and the distances many of them must travel make it extremely difficult to protect.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Al-Qaida and other extremist groups have frequently targeted Shiite pilgrims during religious commemorations, which were severely curtailed under Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime.
U.S. commanders say al-Qaida and other Sunni extremists have been severely weakened in Iraq, but not defeated.
On Thursday, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt packed with nails, killing eight people and wounding more than 50 in Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad.
A day earlier, at least 12 people were killed and more than 40 wounded in a series of bombings in Baghdad targeting pilgrims traveling through the capital on their way to Karbala, where they will be celebrating Monday's end of 40 days of mourning that follow the anniversary of the seventh-century death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein.
He was killed near Karbala in a battle for the leadership of the Muslim nation following Muhammad's death in 632. His death contributed to the split between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
Elsewhere, a roadside bomb killed two civilians and wounded four others, including a soldier, when it exploded Saturday near an Iraqi army patrol in western Mosul, 240 miles (390 kilometers) north of Baghdad, said an Iraqi police official.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information to the news media.
MyWay
posted by madtom at 7:57 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home