11 Shiite pilgrims killed in Iraq bombing (Wed)

[maddezmom]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Attacks on Shiite pilgrims continued Wednesday, with at least 11 people killed by bombs and gunfire who were heading for a solemn religious ritual, police said.

The attacks came a day after two suicide bombers exploded themselves in a crowd of Shiite pilgrims in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad. At least 120 people died in that attack, authorities said.

On Wednesday, a roadside bomb exploded alongside pilgrims traveling to Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, ahead of this weekend's Muslim holiday. Immediately after the blast, gunmen moved in and fired on the pilgrims, police said.

At least seven were killed and 14 wounded, they said. The attack happened in Dora, a mostly Sunni neighborhood of southern Baghdad.

Hours later, more gunmen opened fire on Shiite pilgrims on a bridge in southeastern Baghdad, killing three and wounding five, police said. Another shooting left one pilgrim dead and four wounded in central Baghdad, police said.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070307/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_violence

[naboo]

1. On NPR they were talking about human rights abuses

and Iraq was one of the countries they mentioned (and now the US). Anyway, they said that there were government connected Sunni attacks, they said it so fast, and I thought, well if it's connected to the Iraqi government then it's connected to the U.S.

[Eugene]

2. 6 killed in mortar attack in Iskandariya

(Reuters)

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, March 7
07 Mar 2007 17:20:19 GMT
Source: Reuters

March 7 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq as of 1700 GMT
on Wednesday:

-snip-

* ISKANDARIYA - Six Shi'ite pilgrims were killed and 13 were wounded after they
were hit by mortar bombs in the town of Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of
Baghdad.

BAGHDAD - A car bomb in Saidiya in southern Baghdad killed seven Shi'ite pilgrims
and a policeman, a police source said.

BAGHDAD - Insurgents ambushed Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims in southern Baghdad,
killing seven and wounding 27 with a roadside bomb, police sources said. However
Qassim Moussawi, spokesman for the Baghdad security plan, told Iraqiya state
television there were only three casualties, it was not clear if he meant dead or
wounded.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PAR730995.htm

[rodeodance]

3. Attacks on Iraq Shiite pilgrims continue

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070307/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=AsQgs.CQ_ISVoSSg2.Xi22Os0NUE

Attacks on Iraq Shiite pilgrims continue

By LAUREN FRAYER, Associated Press Writer 32 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Attacks on Shiite pilgrims showed no sign of easing Wednesday with at least 11 people killed by bombs and gunfire as they streamed toward a Muslim shrine ahead of a weekend holiday.

The targeted violence came a day after two suicide bombers exploded themselves among pilgrims lining up at a checkpoint, killing at least 120 people and wounding about 190, police and hospital officials said.

On Wednesday, mourners carried coffins through Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, where a main street became a swamp of blood and debris after the twin attack. Bodies in plastic bags were lined up outside the city's hospital, where the wounded lay on gurneys in crowded hallways.

The Hillah bombings and other attacks on Shiites have been blamed on Sunni insurgents, trying to destabilize Iraq's Shiite-dominated government.

The victims had been headed to Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, for weekend rites marking the end of a 40-day mourning period for the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein died near Karbala in a 7th-century battle.

[maddezmom]

4. at least 22 more Shiite pilgrims were killed Wed

~snip~

At least 22 more Shi'ite pilgrims were killed on Wednesday, a day after some 140 pilgrims died in suicide bombings and shootings likely to further fuel the sectarian tension that is already threatening to pitch Iraq into all-out civil war.

A car bomb in Saidiya in southern Baghdad killed eight people, a police source said. Another seven pilgrims were killed by a roadside bomb and gunmen in southern Baghdad, police sources said. Six more were killed by mortars south of Baghdad.

"These acts will not stop us," said Jabar Ali, who walked for eight days from the southern city of Basra to Kerbala for Shi'ite mourning ceremonies.

Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched a U.S.-backed security crackdown last month that has had some success in reducing death squad killings blamed on Shi'ite militias.

But there has been no let-up in bombings, many of which target Shi'ite communities who say they need the militias to protect them from Sunni Arab insurgents such as al Qaeda.
more:http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L07712429.htm

[maddezmom]

5. Death toll from Baghdad car bomb 22 - U.S. military

Death toll from Baghdad car bomb 22 - U.S. military
07 Mar 2007 19:47:36 GMT
Source: Reuters

Background
• Iraq in turmoil


MORE >>
BAGHDAD, March 7 (Reuters) - The death toll from a car bomb targeting a checkpoint in southern Baghdad on Wednesday rose to 22 people, including 12 Iraqi policemen, the U.S. military said.

Ten Iraqi civilians were also killed in the blast, the U.S. military said in a statement.

Earlier, an Iraqi police source said a car bomb targeting police and Shi'ite pilgrims in the southern Baghdad district of Saidiya had killed eight people, including seven pilgrims heading to the holy city of Kerbala.

http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IBO770893.htm


this must have been the earlier report.
Insurgents target Shiite pilgrims for 3rd day; 12 pilgrims, 7 police killed
BAGHDAD (CNN) -- For a third day, insurgent attacks against Shiite pilgrims on Wednesday bloodied the route to the holy city of Karbala.

Iraqi security forces have been deployed into a number Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad to secure the roads for the pilgrims, a Baghdad police official said. Shiites across Iraq are heading to Karbala on foot for an upcoming religious gathering, which falls on Saturday.

So far Wednesday, three attacks have been reported in Baghdad involving pilgrims.

A suicide car bomb struck an Iraqi police checkpoint in the southwestern Baghdad neighborhood of Saydiya, killing seven police and three pilgrims and wounding 18 police and 23 pilgrims, the official said. In the Nadha district in central Baghdad, two were killed and three wounded when gunmen in a vehicle fired on a crowd of pilgrims, and in Baghdad's predominantly Sunni Dora district, attackers detonated a roadside bomb and then fired on pilgrims, killing at least seven and wounding 14.

link: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/03/07/wednesday/index.html

[Eugene]

6. AP: Iraqi TV Journalist Killed by Car Bomb

Iraqi TV Journalist Killed by Car Bomb


Wednesday March 7, 2007 11:46 PM

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - An Iraqi TV cameraman working for a privately
owned Shiite station was among 22 people killed Wednesday in a car
bombing at a police checkpoint in south Baghdad, his station said.

Youssef Sabri, who worked for the Biladi satellite station, was filming
Shiite pilgrims marching to the holy city of Karbala from the back of a
police truck when the blast occurred, said Ahmed Abdul-Qader, a
colleague at the station.

Twelve police commandos also died, the U.S. military said.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6464601,00.html