BAGHDAD, Aug. 14, 2008
Female Suicide Bomber Kills 26 In Iraq
Bombs Target Shiite Pilgrims South Of Baghdad During Major Religious Festival
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Iraq has seen a dramatic increase in the number of female suicide bombers in 2008. (CBS)
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Rise In Female Suicide Bombers
According to the U.S., women have carried out at least 27 suicide bomb attacks this year, more than triple the number in 2007. Richard Roth reports on this growing terrorist trend.
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Iraq Suicide Attacks
Bombs strike Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad and Kurdish rally in Kirkuk.
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A daily diary with scenes of the latest attacks and snapshots from the effort to rebuild a nation.
The woman blew herself up among a group of pilgrims resting on the side of the road in Iskandariyah as women were cooking dinner, men were praying and children were playing nearby, a witness said.
"Minutes after I passed the resting spot, I heard a big explosion. I turned my head back and saw big flames," said Ahmed al-Saadi, a 34-year-old carpenter from Baghdad's Sadr City district.
"We rushed to the site and saw charred bodies, while wounded people were crying for help. Pots and burnt prayer rugs were scattered all over the place," he said.
The Shabaniyah festival, which climaxes over the weekend, marks the birth of Mohammed al-Mahdi, the 12th Shiite imam, who disappeared in the ninth century. Devout Shiites believe he will return to Earth to restore peace and harmony.
At least 26 people were killed and 75 wounded in the attack, a senior police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.
He said police believed the bomber was a woman based on witness reports.
Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of the capital, was one of the main cities in an area dubbed the triangle of death for much of the war. But it has seen a recent decline in violence that the U.S. military has attributed to a Sunni movement against al Qaeda in Iraq, as well as an influx of American troops.
Sporadic attacks continue to hit the area, however.
On Feb. 24, another suicide bomber killed at least 40 Shiite pilgrims near Iskandariyah as they were en route for another religious festival.
Shiite pilgrims also faced violence in Baghdad on Thursday.
A roadside bomb exploded in the southeastern district of Zafaraniyah, killing one Iraqi and wounding as many as nine others, including six pilgrims, officials said.
Lt. Col. Steve Stover, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Baghdad, blamed a "special groups cell in the area" for the attack, saying it was seeking to heighten public unrest.
The U.S. military uses the term special groups to refer to Shiite extremists it says are backed by Iran and refusing to adhere to a cease-fire by anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Police said another roadside bomb killed one pilgrim and wounded seven others - all young men - in the central Alwiya district. But Stover said that bomb was targeting a U.S. patrol and caused no injuries.
Authorities have fortified the capital and Karbala, 50 miles to the south, to prevent extremists from infiltrating the main areas where the rituals are performed. But pilgrims remain vulnerable as they walk on foot to the shrines.
Shiite religious festivals have often been targeted by militants from al Qaeda in Iraq, the country's deadliest Sunni terror group.
The most recent attack against Shiite pilgrims was last month, when three female suicide bombers struck Shiite pilgrims in nearly simultaneous bombings in Baghdad, killing at least 32 people and wounding more than 100.
On Thursday, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, the chief military spokesman for Baghdad, issued several regulations designed to defuse sectarian tensions during the journey to Karbala. The route passes through Sunni areas just south of the capital.
The order banned members of the Shiite-dominated security forces deployed along the route from plastering their vehicles with religious and political symbols - like images of Shiite saints or Shiite party posters - and from joining pilgrims in their religious chants. Security personnel, al-Moussawi said, must stick to the national anthem and fly the national flag from their vehicles.
Al-Moussawi, who announced the regulations on state television, also said pilgrims must not carry arms and those traveling on foot mustn't walk about after dark. He warned against rumors that could sow panic and against accepting food from strangers.
In other developments:
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 88 CommentsAnd I thought that everyone who lived in the 9th century eventually disappeared.
Tell that to all the innocent women and children killed and maimed by Crusader George. Or the many crusaders that died and were maimed for big oil.
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Posted by notblue at 05:20 PM : Aug 14, 2008
-Saddam has had an iron fist over the three main sects in Iraq, Shiites, Sunnis and Christians for 2-3 decades. Saddam was a secular ruler. Theocracy leads to such anarchy in any given country. Still wondering why we have separated Church from Government in USA?
GET OUT OF THERE COUNTRY. Read you constitution you Dumb *****. Your so ******* stupid you probably don''t even know what a constitution is.
GET OUT OF THERE COUNTRY. Read you constitution you Dumb *****. Your so ******* stupid you probably don''''t even know what a constitution is.
Posted by WarDogLRS
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We''re so stupid? Ever heard of spell check? And don''t get me started on your grammar (no, I don''t mean your grandpa''s wife, idiot.)
If you could actually read, you would see the article actually said that she blew herself up in a group of "Pilgrims". Sound like American occupiers? Nope. Not to me.
People in the middle east have been killing each other long before America was a country. So don''t blame us.
Blame it on a woman
Right a bomb goes off and kills 26 people where are the witnessness to verify it was a woman carrying the explosives.
Sounds more like a bomb dropped from the sky
Like a fighter jet.
And what''s with CBS propganada news reporting
They don''t have a new pictures of that so-called mastermind of 9/11 the, the slob in the whiter t-shirt.
And that picture of those so-called women wearing the black garb. Look at the guy on the left, those aren''t women''s hands.
Such a bunch of BS!
SURE
More like a bomb from a fighter jet laser guided type
No eyewitnesses left to prove it was the work of a suicide bomber
So the report comes in and the idiots on the right believe it.
HOW LAME.
Since when does a bomb that large fit around one''s body?
Afghan officials: U.S. missiles killed civilians - Afghanistan ...Jul 6, 2008 ... Afghan officials: U.S. missiles killed 27 civilians ...
What''s the real story here another misguided missisle and now it''s a woman carrying a missisle? HUM
Oh! SHUT UP!!!!!!
You are so clueless.
Posted by haoli25 at 09:05 PM : Aug 14, 2008
All she got for you is a pound of C4.
Oh! SHUT UP!!!!!!
You are so clueless.
Posted by ToolMangler at 08:32 PM : Aug 14, 2008
When your around I should be sure to check in since it''s not a
Free speech zone
And my answer to you is NO!
Afghan officials: U.S. missiles killed civilians - Afghanistan ...Jul 6, 2008 ... Afghan officials: U.S. missiles killed 27 civilians ...
What''s the real story here? Could it be another misguided missisle but reported as a woman carrying a missisle? HUM
Posted by lazareth"
LOL Good one
Maybe the U.S.military better step in and pass some cash around to them, TOO! It''s a paternalistic society, the Iraqi govt won''t do it! Our military better, if you want the bombing to stop! Women can blow themselves up just as easily as the men can!
They deserve to be paid off, too. They have kids to care for after all!
I wonder if these female suicide bombers are on Petraeus'' payroll . . . think about it -- they make a perfect case for keeping our troops in Iraq.
Just Call Me God Petraeus can claim that "The surge is working!" while still claiming that "We can''t cut and run," b/c the evil-doers are still doing their evil. It''s the perfect Cacth-22!
We can''t leave b/c things are going great, and we can''t leave b/c things might get bad! It''s a defense contractors'' dream come true!! And Petraeus is just the guy to deliver on it! He''ll tow the party line, no doubt about it -- he''s up for the 2012 nod, afterall.
It''s just like the forged Iraqi intelligence letter that sucked us into Iraq in the first place -- Petraeus & Crocker can always claim the suicide bombers are "Iranian agents" and use that as the excuse to invade Iran -- the next big opportunity for the defense contracting industry.
Meanwhile . . . 68% of American companies acknowlege they pay zero income taxes.
Posted by imprisonkarl "
I''ll bet McSame can get that number higher without much effort.
PATTON
General Bradley:
Have you seen the casualty lists?
Patton:
Yes, I''ve seen them.
General Bradley. . .
. . .it''s time to consider how many
casualties we''d have. . .
. . .if we were still crawling on
that ******* road.
it is time to consider how much more it will cost if we do not defeat FASCIST NAZI TERRORISLAM,,,
after america became a country,,, fascist nazi terrorislam demanded that america pay protection money or they would attack americas ships and enslave all on board,,,
thomas jefferson and james madison was having non of that,,, and they sent americas military to kick fascist nazi terrorislams arses in barbary war one and barbary war two,,, why two wars,,, fascist nazi terrorislamists break treaties,,, sound familiar??? can you say iraq,,,
It is a settled policy of America, that as peace is better than war, war is better than tribute. The United States, while they wish for war with no nation, will buy peace with none. President James Madison
Posted by guyfrompa49
He shouldn''t have to, the ssssuuuuurrrrgggggeeee worked, remember.
How much more evidence do you "Republcan Suicide Bombers" need?
Republicans Paul Wolfiwitz and Donald Rumsfield didn''t say that America would perpuate a 100 year Israeli style occupation of Iraq. The American people didn''t sign for that to catch some clown who threatened Bush''s daddy.
And they didn''t sign up to pay for it through all of this hyper-inflation at the pump and at the supermarket either.
The "surge" and the whole Iraqi war has been a complete and utter disaster with untold costs to the United States setting dangerous and potentially fatal precedents for Russia to go MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) with us.
Posted by jamesm12341
Excuse me??? The whole purpose of the surge was to eliminate sectarian violence. Before the surge most violence was being carried out with suicide bombers, car bombs and IEDs. So here we have a suicide bomber carrying out sectarian violence, and not the first one since the surge has been called a success. I do however reiterate my statement, if the surge is a success, Obama won''t have to talk to suicide bombers.
Posted by jamesm12341
Excuse me??? The whole purpose of the surge was to eliminate sectarian violence. Before the surge most violence was being carried out with suicide bombers, car bombs and IEDs. So here we have a suicide bomber carrying out sectarian violence, and not the first one since the surge has been called a success. I do however reiterate my statement, if the surge is a success, Obama won''''t have to talk to suicide bombers.
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Posted by omega39 at 09:30 AM : Aug 15, 2008--
...thankyou,
these "Republican Suicide Bombers" change the reasons for going into Iraq every 5 minutes and yet have the nerve to accuse Obama of changing his mind.
1. WMD
2. Links to Al Quaida
3. Spread Freedom and Democracy
4. He threatened Bush''s dad back in the late 90''s
5. Quell the violence
6. Let''s just occupy Iraq for a 100 years because "defecits don''t matter".
Why don''t "Republican Suicide Bombers" admit that it''s about oil and it''s pipeline infrastructure for the benifit of Wall Street and the "City of London".
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Posted by WhyAfghan at 09:42 AM : Aug 15, 2008--
No one in history has ever imposed "freedom" by the barrel of a gun and yes I am anguished at the high food prices and gas prices because it''s all linked to the defecit blow-out from all of this spending in Iraq.
You don''t like freedom, you want to see America suffer so you can "save face". That''s why you''re just another "Republican Suicide Bomber".
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Posted by WhyAfghan at 09:42 AM : Aug 15, 2008--
...and I don''t blame America, I just blame George W. Bush, Darth Cheney and the "Republican Suicide Bombers".
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Posted by jamesm12341 at 10:00 AM : Aug 15, 2008--
don''t try to use psycho-babel on me,
when the "Decider" decides to go to war for flip-flopping reasons thus blowing defecits and causing hyper-inflation, that''s unwanted power over me that I can''t control.
"Defecits do matter", or are you to stupid to recognize that?
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