- Title: IRAQ: Injured taken to hospital after attack on Shi'ite shrine
- Date: 5th January 2009
- Summary: BAGHDAD, IRAQ (JANUARY 4, 2009) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF AL-KADHIMIYA TEACHING HOSPITAL CLOSEUP OF SIGN READING IN ARABIC AND ENGLISH "AL-KADHIMIYA TEACHING HOSPITAL" WOUNDED WOMAN ON BED / MAN AND WOMAN STANDING AT BEDSIDE WOUNDED MAN ON BED INSIDE HOSPITAL WARD WOUNDED MAN BEING TREATED WOUNDED MAN ON BED WITH OXYGEN MASK
- Embargoed: 20th January 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Iraq
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
- Reuters ID: LVA6W8NJJXOOOV5F2PFIXI0G63O5
- Story Text: A female suicide bomber infiltrated a crowd of Shi'ite pilgrims, killing at least 35 people and wounding at least 79 others at a revered Shi'ite shrine in northwestern Baghdad on Sunday (January 4).
The blast struck a checkpoint outside the Imam Moussa al-Kadhim shrine in Kadhimiya, a mainly Shi'ite area of Baghdad, as Shi'ites prepared for the Ashura holiday to mark the death of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
"The blast took place while the guards were searching visitors near the holy shrine. Many causalities were brought into hospital," said an Iraqi woman sitting near her wounded son in hospital.
Many of the casualties were pilgrims from Iran, security spokesman Major-General Qassim Moussawi said, underscoring the deep religious ties between the two majority Shi'ite countries.
In a statement he said a woman wearing an explosive vest had managed to reach one of the security checkpoints near the revered Kadhim shrine and had blown herself up in the midst of a crowd of pilgrims.
He gave an initial death toll of 35 killed and 79 wounded. Iraqi security sources gave slightly higher casualty totals.
Sunni militants have increasingly deployed women and girls as suicide bombers as a tactic to get them past tightened security. At least two dozen female bombers struck last year, killing scores of people.
As the United States reduces its activities in Iraq, local forces are taking greater responsibility for security.
Sunday's bomb attack was a grim reminder of the challenges they face, almost six years after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Violence has dropped dramatically from the peak of sectarian bloodshed in 2006-2007, but militants regularly stage bombings.
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Shi'ites will visit the holy city of Kerbala, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad throughout the Ashura week to mark the death of Hussein, one of the most important events in the Shi'ite calendar.
Sunni militants have frequently targeted Shi'ite holy pilgrimages, which have become massive events since the fall of Saddam Hussein, who repressed them. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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