AP/Drudge/MSNBC: "Series of Strong Explosions Heard in Central Baghdad"

MSNBC/Drudge | 11.3.03

[mhking]

That's all we've got; no details yet.

[Peach]

A blast near a holy Shiite Muslim shrine in the city of Karbala on Monday killed three people and injured 12, witnesses said. Meanwhile, in Baghdad, a string of mortar blasts struck near downtown after sunset.

The Karbala blast occurred on a busy street less than 100 yards from the gold-domed Imam Hussein shrine in the city, 65 miles south of the Iraqi capital, said Mohammed Abu Jaffar al-Assadi, a Shiite cleric.

All the dead apparently were passers-by. He said the bomb had apparently been planted in a parked car. It was not immediately possible to get confirmation of the report from Iraqi police or the U.S.-led coalition.

In Baghdad, five strong explosions were heard in quick succession at about 9:10 p.m., and it appeared the blasts were coming from the western side of the Tigris River.

Soon after, the U.S military command reported three or four mortar impacts in central Baghdad.

Karbala was rocked by deadly clashes last month between supporters of rival Shiite factions. Also in October, supporters of a little-known Shiite cleric based in Karbala killed three U.S. soldiers in a rare clash between residents of the holy city and the U.S. military.

On Aug. 29, a car bomb exploded outside a mosque in the nearby city of Najaf, killing more than 85 people including Shiite leader Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim. It was the bloodiest incident since the end of the U.S.-led invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein.

[ArGee]

What can you do?

Creative thinking time? Douse all terrorist corpses in pigs' blood before burial. Broadcast the dousing and burial on live TV.

Shalom.

[Ichneumon]

I must be becoming dyslexic in my old age. I thought you had written "cause nuclear."

Lol -- same here.

[Ichneumon]

I must be becoming dyslexic in my old age. I thought you had written "cause nuclear."

Lol -- same here.

[zarf]

Now, now...I didn't say ALL Southern Baptists.

[Myrddin]

9:10 PM. Sounds like someone failed to set the timer correctly. It was supposed to be 9:11 PM.

[Mo1]

They are tageting shines & mosques??

And these terrorists think this will help them how???

What are they going to do next .. attack and bomb Mecca??

[dfwgator]

Holy Shiite, indeed!

[Sally'sConcerns]

I understand how very difficult it is to be a Christian in the ME. I salute the Christians who persevere there. That doesn't negate my question to ASA Vet who posted the map with all traces of the Middle East removed. (In his words...all 2 of them).

I don't believe obliterating all traces of the middle east is going to solve the problem of radical Islam. I might even go so far as to hypothize there might be a few radical Islams here in the states. Should we blow up the entire world to rid it of radical Islam?

[Dog]

Another explosion in Karbala (BBC), and a roadside or car bomb in Tikrit.

All of this is happening at once.

Al Qaeda or Ansar al Islam...

[Dog]

Who was using that mosque???

Sadr....

[Tree of Liberty]

Al Qaeda or Ansar al Islam

One in the same

[DCPatriot]

Thanks....that's why this site is so cool...there is always an "expert" to supply the details.

[tazman3]

What are they going to do next .. attack and bomb Mecca??

All ready starting....

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,102009,00.html

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Police battled militants in the streets of the holy city of Mecca on Monday, killing two of the suspects and uncovering a large cache of weapons, the state news agency reported.
The raid on two buildings in Mecca's al-Share'a neighborhood foiled a terrorist operation "that did not respect the sanctity of holy places and the month of Ramadan (search)" — the holy month of fasting that began days ago, an Interior Minister was quoted as saying by the Saudi Press Agency.
It was the second time this year that Saudi authorities have broken up suspected militant rings in Mecca (search) — a city at the symbolic heart of the Saudi royal family's rule — amid a wide crackdown on Islamic extremists.
When police surrounded the buildings at 8 a.m., the suspects opened fire with automatic rifles and grenades, the official said.
Police fired back as the militants fled in two cars, hitting one of the vehicles and killing two of its occupants.
A cache of weapons and bombs were found inside the car, the official said.
Security also seized fire arms including Kalashnikov rifles, hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades, and material to make explosives in the raided premise. Passports, identification cards, and flyers were also found.
Police are searching for the militants who escaped, the official said. It was not clear how many were at large, and the ministry official did not give details on the alleged terrorist plot.
The government has been cracking down on Islamic militants since May 12 suicide bombings in Riyadh killed 26 people and nine attackers.
On June 14, a raid on a terror cell plotting attacks in Mecca killed five Al Qaeda militants and two security agents. Police also found six dozen bombs and other weapons in the militants' hide-out.
Saudis had reacted angrily to the threats against Mecca, the birthplace of Islam's seventh-century prophet and the heart of the annual pilgrimage every able-bodied Muslim is required to perform at least once.
The legitimacy of Saudi rulers rests partly on their custodianship of the holy city, which is off-limits to non-Muslims. A strike on Mecca could be seen as a strike on the regime.

[Peach]

Interesting theory on the timer being wrong - probably should have been 9:11

[TheCrusader]

"I don't believe obliterating all traces of the middle east is going to solve the problem of radical Islam."

Just two things,Sally.

(1). They would blow up all of the Western world if they had the means.

(2). Just what exactly is a non-radical Islamic?

[Peach]

Seems a strange target,doesn't it? I don't get it either.

[Betteboop]

LOLOLOLOL!!!!

[Peach]

Any more news in MSNBC or are they still reporting on Peterson/Kobe/9 Dwarves?

[Mo1]

A cache of weapons and bombs were found inside the car, the official said. Security also seized fire arms including Kalashnikov rifles, hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades, and material to make explosives in the raided premise. Passports, identification cards, and flyers were also found.

OMG .. they are going after Mecca

Sounds like they are desperate to make this a Holy War no matter what