Suicide bomber targets Shiite pilgrims in Iraq, killing 53

[News_Editor]

Suicide bomber targets Shiite pilgrims in Iraq, killing 53

2012-01-16 02:56:42 GMT+7 (ICT)

BASRA, IRAQ (BNO NEWS) -- More than 50 people were killed on Saturday morning when a suicide bomber targeted a group of Shiite pilgrims in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, officials said on Sunday. More than 100 others were injured.

The attack happened at around 9 a.m. local time when a person wearing an explosive belt blew himself up at a checkpoint in a crowd of pilgrims who were visiting the Al-Khatwa mosque near Basra, which is located about 590 kilometers (366 miles) south of Baghdad.

The powerful blast left at least 53 people killed and wounded 137 others, police said. Many of the victims, which included dozens of women and children, were rushed to various hospitals in the region, where some remain in a critical condition.

Hundreds of thousands of Shiites were walking toward the holy city of Karbala, some 110 kilometers (68 miles) south of Baghdad, to commemorate the 40th Martyrdom Day of Imam Hussein Bin-Ali, the grandson of the prophet Mohamed.

On January 5, more than 70 people were killed when a wave of bomb blasts hit Baghdad and the southern city of Nasiriyah where Shiite Muslims had gathered. The pilgrims were also heading toward Karbala for Arbaeen ceremonies, which commemorate Imam Hussein.

Political turmoil and sectarian violence has been on the rise following the pullout of the last U.S. soldiers in mid-December. On December 22, a wave of at least a dozen bomb attacks, involving numerous car bombs, roadside bombs and IEDs, were reported in several parts of Baghdad, killing at least 60 people and injuring nearly 200 others.

The attacks in December came just days after the last U.S. soldiers withdrew from the country, ending its nearly nine-year-long presence in the country. Analysts have feared a surge in political turmoil and sectarian violence following the departure of the last U.S. troops.

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