February 11, 2009 5:25 PM
- Text
58 Killed In Iraq On Shiite Holy Day
(CBS/AP)
Bombers struck Shiite worshippers in two cities Tuesday and gunmen ambushed a busload of pilgrims in a series of attacks that killed at least 58 people as more than two million Shiites jammed major shrines for ceremonies marking Ashoura, the holiest day of the Shiite calendar.
The bloodshed occurred despite heightened security following a battle with messianic Shiites who authorities said planned a major assault on Ashoura ceremonies.
The deadliest attack occurred when a suicide bomber blew himself up among a crowd of worshippers entering a Shiite mosque in Mandali near the Iranian border, killing 26 people and wounding 47, according to police. At least 12 more died and 28 were wounded when a bomb exploded in a garbage can as Shiites were performing outdoor rituals in the largely Kurdish city of Khanaqin, police said,
In Baghdad, gunmen in two cars opened fire on a bus carrying Shiite pilgrims to the capital's most important Shiite shrine, killing seven and wounding seven others, police said. Hours later, mortar shells rained down on two mostly Sunni neighborhoods, killing nine and wounding 30 in what police said appeared to be a reprisal attack.
One person was killed in a mortar attack on a Shiite neighborhood, police said. Two policemen were killed in a boming in Mosul and one Shiite man was shot dead in Baghdad, police said.
But intense security prevented major violence in the Shiite holy cities of Karbala and Najaf, venues for the biggest and most important Ashoura commemorations. Police found only eight bodies Tuesday of people slain by sectarian death squads in Baghdad, the lowest single day total in months.
Ashoura ceremonies mark the 7th century death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, in a battle near Karbala that cemented the Sunni-Shiite schism. Worshippers beat themselves with chains, slice their heads with small knives and pound their chests in expressions of grief over the death of Imam Hussein.
More than 1.5 million pilgrims, mostly Iraqis but from as far away as India and Pakistan, jammed Karbala for the Ashoura commemorations, according to provincial Gov. Akeel al-Khazaali. Hundreds of thousands more joined rituals in Najaf, Baghdad and other cities.
In Karbala, all private transport was banned — including bicycles — and pilgrims had to submit to body-searches at dozens of checkpoints before reaching the two golden domed shrines of Imam Hussein and his half brother Imam Abbas. U.S. unmanned surveillance aircraft flew over the city to look for signs of trouble, al-Khazaali said.
"Even if the terrorists tear us to pieces, we will not stop coming to visit Imam Hussein," said Abbas Karim, 27, a laborer from the southern city of Nasiriyah.
In other developments:
Stabilizing Iraq will require "new and different actions" to improve security and promote political reconciliation, the Navy admiral poised to lead American forces in the Middle East said Tuesday.
Hundreds of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have experienced shortages of key protective equipment including armored vehicles, roadside-bomb countermeasures and communications gear, an internal Pentagon survey released Tuesday shows.
Iraq security forces have captured a provincial leader of al Qaeda in Iraq group in an operation north of Baghdad Tuesday that also left two of his followers dead, the government spokesman said. Dozens were captured in the operation, he said.
Gunmen on Tuesday ambushed a bus carrying Shiite pilgrims marking Ashoura, killing at least seven people and wounding seven, police said. The armed men drove by the bus in two cars and opened fire on the occupants, then sped away, police said. The attack occurred in the western district of Hay al-Amil, a religiously mixed area.
A U.S. Marine was killed in fighting in Anbar province, west of Baghdad, while a soldier died in an accident elsewhere, the military said. The Marine assigned to Multi-National Forces-West died Monday of wounds sustained due to enemy action in the insurgent stronghold, which stretches from Baghdad to the borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. A 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Soldier was killed in an accident when a Humvee rolled over northwest of Nasiriyah, 200 miles southeast of Baghdad.
Adm. William Fallon, who is poised to become the top American commander in the Middle East, says the United States miscalculated the ability of Iraqi forces to take control and underestimated the enemy's persistence. "Securing the stability of the country has been more difficult than anticipated," Fallon said in a written statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee. "Our ability to correctly assess the political, economic and security situation in Iraq has been lacking."
The bloodshed occurred despite heightened security following a battle with messianic Shiites who authorities said planned a major assault on Ashoura ceremonies.
The deadliest attack occurred when a suicide bomber blew himself up among a crowd of worshippers entering a Shiite mosque in Mandali near the Iranian border, killing 26 people and wounding 47, according to police. At least 12 more died and 28 were wounded when a bomb exploded in a garbage can as Shiites were performing outdoor rituals in the largely Kurdish city of Khanaqin, police said,
In Baghdad, gunmen in two cars opened fire on a bus carrying Shiite pilgrims to the capital's most important Shiite shrine, killing seven and wounding seven others, police said. Hours later, mortar shells rained down on two mostly Sunni neighborhoods, killing nine and wounding 30 in what police said appeared to be a reprisal attack.
One person was killed in a mortar attack on a Shiite neighborhood, police said. Two policemen were killed in a boming in Mosul and one Shiite man was shot dead in Baghdad, police said.
But intense security prevented major violence in the Shiite holy cities of Karbala and Najaf, venues for the biggest and most important Ashoura commemorations. Police found only eight bodies Tuesday of people slain by sectarian death squads in Baghdad, the lowest single day total in months.
Ashoura ceremonies mark the 7th century death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, in a battle near Karbala that cemented the Sunni-Shiite schism. Worshippers beat themselves with chains, slice their heads with small knives and pound their chests in expressions of grief over the death of Imam Hussein.
More than 1.5 million pilgrims, mostly Iraqis but from as far away as India and Pakistan, jammed Karbala for the Ashoura commemorations, according to provincial Gov. Akeel al-Khazaali. Hundreds of thousands more joined rituals in Najaf, Baghdad and other cities.
In Karbala, all private transport was banned — including bicycles — and pilgrims had to submit to body-searches at dozens of checkpoints before reaching the two golden domed shrines of Imam Hussein and his half brother Imam Abbas. U.S. unmanned surveillance aircraft flew over the city to look for signs of trouble, al-Khazaali said.
"Even if the terrorists tear us to pieces, we will not stop coming to visit Imam Hussein," said Abbas Karim, 27, a laborer from the southern city of Nasiriyah.
In other developments:
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Scott Conroy Scott Conroy is a National Political Reporter for RealClearPolitics and a contributor for CBS News.
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