Sunni rescuer hailed as Iraq hero - Democratic Underground

ECH1969

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Mon Sep-05-05 07:29 AM
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Sunni rescuer hailed as Iraq hero

A Sunni teenager who died while saving Shia victims of last week's Baghdad stampede has been praised as a "martyr" by Iraqi politicians.

Witnesses say Othman Abdul Hafez drowned as he tried to pull yet another Shia pilgrim from the River Tigris, having saved up to seven others.

About 1,000 people died in the stampede during a Shia religious procession.

His actions belie predictions that the stampede - blamed on Sunni-led insurgents - may exacerbate sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shias at a time of sectarian divisions over the drafting of Iraq's new constitution.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4214926.stm

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