Explosions in Bagdad and possibly Karbala as well (At Least 85 Killed)

CNN ^ | 2 march 2004 | CNN

[Eurotwit]

at least 6 explosions in Karbala according to CNN. Blast in Bagdad near a Shia mosque.

[GeronL]

Keep looking for more info... I need to hit the sack

[HAL9000]

BBC News -  Six explosions rock the Iraqi city of Karbala during Shia festival. More soon.

[Eurotwit]

in karbala..at least 25 dead according to Reuters.

[Eurotwit]

Four explosions in Bagdhad according to CNN

[HAL9000]

Explosions rock city of Karbala; at least five killed

KARBALA, Iraq (AP) -- Several explosions were heard Tuesday morning in Karbala, where hundreds of thousands of Shiite Muslim pilgrims were marking the mourning festival of Ashoura. At least five people were killed, witness said.

An Associated Press reporter said the streets were in chaos with people running to seek shelter as a series of at least five explosions went off nearly simultaneously after 10 a.m. local time in and around the city, 55 miles south of Baghdad.

It wasn't immediately clear what the targets of the explosions were.

[Anti-Bubba182]

Middle East - AP

Mon Mar 1, 5:44 AM ET BAGHDAD, Iraq - A large explosion was heard Monday in central Baghdad and appeared to have come from the vicinity of the headquarters of the U.S. occupation authority.

Shortly after the blast, a Black Hawk helicopter circled over the green zone, the U.S. compound that includes Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s former Republican Palace and serves as headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition.

There were no immediate details on the cause of the blast

[windchime]

Fox news break had film from one explosion site....indicated five Iraqis dead in that explosion.

[Prodigal Son]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/3524589.stm

At least six explosions have rocked the holy Iraqi city of Karbala, where hundreds of thousands of Shia Muslims are marking the festival of Ashura.
Reuters news agency is reporting that at least 25 people have been killed.

The BBC's Paul Wood in Karbala says there are scenes of panic, with victims being carried on makeshift stretchers and women trying to get children away.

There are also reports of a blast at a major Shia shrine in Baghdad, in what may be a co-ordinated attack.

Our correspondent says security was tight in Karbala because of fears that the festival would be a target for attacks.

This was the first time in decades that Iraq's majority Shia community had been able to freely observe their holy day Ashura.

More than a million people have flocked to the city to commemorate the death of Imam Hussein in 680.

The festival had been banned under Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime for fear it would foment rebellion.

Correspondents said this year's event coincides with the growing dominance of Shia in post-Saddam Iraqi - which led to fears that disgruntled Sunni militants might target the celebrations.

As a result, Karbala was ringed by security forces - with Polish soldiers policing the town's entry points and Shia militia guarding its streets and shrines.

[Anti-Bubba182]

Reuters

Blasts Target Iraqi Shi'ite Ceremony in Baghdad

Tue Mar 2, 2004 02:27 AM ET

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Several blasts in a Shi'ite district of Baghdad Tuesday caused several casualties, Iraqi police said, as thousands of Shi'ites gathered in the area for one of the sect's main religious ceremonies of the year.

The blasts, near a major Shi'ite shrine in the district, took place almost simultaneously with explosions in the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala that killed at least 25 people.

[Prodigal Son]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&e=3&u=/ap/20040302/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_explosions

Explosions Kills Dozens in Iraqi Cities

KARBALA, Iraq - Several explosions hit major Shiite shrines here and in Baghdad on Tuesday where thousands of pilgrims were gathered to for a religious festival, killing and wounding dozens of people.

In Karbala, five blasts went off almost simultaneously near two major Shiite Muslim shrines, throwing bodies for yards and sending crowds of pilgrims into a panic in the city 55 miles south of Baghdad.

An Associated Reporter saw 10 bodies that appeared to be dead being loaded onto a cart and taken away, as well as many injured.

In Baghdad, three explosions targeted the Kazimiya shrine, too, killing and injuring scores of people, an Associated Press Television News reporter said.

Shiites were gathered at the shrines to mark Ashoura, a mourning festival commemorating of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, a top Shiite saint and the grandson of the prophet Muhammad.

[sonofatpatcher2]

You should add to headline: Democrats dancing in streets!

[Eurotwit]

CNN reporting up to nine blasts in karbala...

[dennisw]

Vile pro-Saddam Hussein, Sunni scum murdering Shi'ites. That's my take. Sorta like the Iran/Iraq war

[Eurotwit]

You might be right. But, i wouldn't put it beyond Al Qaeda either. Trying to stir up a civil war and the rest of it.

[Eurotwit]

Anyways, the imam of the targeted mosque blames America.

[dennisw]

You might be right. But, i wouldn't put it beyond Al Qaeda either. Trying to stir up a civil war and the rest of it.

Al Qaeda like to take simultaneous terrorist actions so you just might be right

[LdSentinal]

More specifically, he blames Mel Gibson.

[claudiustg]

This is a clear provocation to civil war or uprising.

I hear Americans being blamed for this! They're saying it couldn't be Muslims!

Of course this is on CNN.