Market bombs kill 44 before Iraqi Shi'ite ritual
Source: Reuters
By Imad al-Khuzaie
DIWANIYA, Iraq | Tue Jul 3, 2012 8:24am EDT
(Reuters) - A bomb in a small truck exploded in a market in the Iraqi city of Diwaniya on Tuesday, killing 40 people, and a bomb blast killed four more near the city of Kerbala, police and officials said - the latest in a series of sectarian attacks.
The Diwaniya bombing was near a Shi'ite mosque where pilgrims gather on their way to Kerbala to celebrate the birthday of one of the most important imams, al-Mahdi, this week.
In Diwaniya, 150 km (93 miles) south of Baghdad and 130 kms south east of Kerbala, police announced a partial curfew and blocked all entrances to the city as they searched for more explosives. Two police sources said 75 people had been wounded.
Attacks have increased in Iraq in recent weeks, raising fears that the country may slip back into widespread violence between Iraqi Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/03/us-iraq-violence-idUSBRE86209620120703
