[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.

[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.

[tomakaze]

re: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.
 
This statement is nothing more then the BBC trying to stir up sh*t.
The smart money is that this was done by remnant "saddamists" for lack of a better term - and who are still more than likely being funded by our "good buddies" the saudis.
They've been pulling this crap, trying to get the different factions at each others throats and start a civil war so they can try and reclaim power in the chaos.