118 Shiite pilgrims killed in Iraq attacks(and over 160 wounded)

[maddezmom]

118 Shiite pilgrims killed in Iraq attacks by Ammar Karim
13 minutes ago



BAGHDAD (AFP) - At least 118 Shiite pilgrims were slaughtered in attacks across Iraq on Tuesday, sparking fears of reprisals that could frustrate efforts by Iraqi and US forces to quell sectarian violence.

The deadliest single attack was in Hilla, south of the capital, where two suicide bombers triggered explosives amid a packed crowd of worshippers walking to the holy city of Karbala, police Lieutenant Karim al-Hamzawi said.

Dr Mohammed Timini from Hilla Hospital's emergency room said 90 pilgrims were killed and at least 160 wounded, as queues of ambulances and private cars brought in scores of bloodied bodies.

"Among the wounded, there are 50 in a critical condition. Eighty percent of the casualties are young men, but there are women and children among the dead," he told AFP at the hospital.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070306/ts_afp/iraq_070306154521

Car bomb strikes Shiite pilgrims in southern Baghdad; 12 dead
BAGHDAD (CNN) -- A car bomb detonated in the southern Baghdad neighborhood of Dora on Tuesday, killing 12 Shiite pilgrims and wounding 38, police officials told CNN.

It is the latest in a series of attacks targeting Shiites walking to the holy city of Karbala for Arbayeen, a religious commemoration that begins on Saturday.

The deadliest attack happened in Hilla, about 25 miles (40 km) west of Karbala, when two suicide bombers struck a crowd of pilgrims, killing 93 and wounding 147.

Earlier in the day, car bombs, roadside bombs and gunfire killed 18 other pilgrims and wounded dozens -- most of them in and around Baghdad -- police reported. -- From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq and Jennifer Deaton (Posted 10:42 a.m.)

more:http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/03/06/tuesday/index.html


Suicide bombers kill up to 90 in Iraq
By LAUREN FRAYER, Associated Press Writer
3 minutes ago



BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two suicide bombers blew themselves up Tuesday in a crowd of Shiite pilgrims streaming toward the holy city of Karbala, killing up to 90 people in one of several attacks targeting the faithful ahead of a weekend holiday.

The attack came a day after U.S. forces suffered their deadliest day in nearly a month — nine American soldiers were killed in explosions north of Baghdad, the military said Tuesday.

The coordinated attack Tuesday happened on a main street in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, said Capt. Muthana Khalid. He said up to 90 people were killed and more than 150 wounded.

An Associated Press cameraman at the scene said the bombers struck a crowd of pilgrims filing into a pedestrian area. Ambulances and Iraqi police were swarming the area and there was no immediate sign of U.S. forces.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070306/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq
Where are the rapid reaction forces?

[maddezmom]

1. reuters alternet: Attacks kill 112 Shi'ite pilgrims in Iraq

Attacks kill 112 Shi'ite pilgrims in Iraq
06 Mar 2007 16:17:15 GMT
Source: Reuters

MORE >>
(Adds new death toll)

By Habib al-Zubaidi

HILLA, Iraq, March 6 (Reuters) - Insurgents killed 112 Shi'ite pilgrims streaming to the holy city of Kerbala in attacks across Iraq on Tuesday, including more than 70 after suicide bombers blew themselves up in a street lined with tents.

The attacks are likely to increase sectarian tensions between majority Shi'ites and Sunni Arabs that have threatened to plunge the country into all-out civil war. Police said 237 pilgrims were wounded in total.

In the worst incident, two suicide bombers strapped with explosives detonated themselves in the city of Hilla, south of Baghdad, killing 77 people, police said. Tents offering food, drink and resting areas lined the crowded street.

"I saw one of the suicide bombers. He was about 40-years- old. He blew himself up and I saw parts of bodies flying around," a witness who declined to give him name told Reuters.

more; http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IBO654663.htm

[VegasWolf]

2. and ole Georgie comes out just today to say how hunky-dory his "new" plan is doing! nt

[maddezmom]

4. and promoted the new oil law..guess he didn't see this

clerics group attacks Iraq's draft oil law
Sunni clerics group attacks Iraq's draft oil law
06 Mar 2007 14:31:47 GMT
Source: Reuters

Background
• Iraq in turmoil


MORE >>
BAGHDAD, March 6 (Reuters) - An influential Sunni Arab group criticised Iraq's long awaited oil investment law on Tuesday, accusing the United States and Britain of invading the country out of greed for its vast oil wealth.

Iraq's cabinet agreed a draft of the law last month after months of wrangling, sending it to parliament for final approval.

The law sets out how oil revenues will be divided among the population and regulates how foreign companies will be able to invest in exploration and production.

Iraqi and U.S. officials have said the law will be a crucial ingredient for Iraqi reconciliation. It states that oil revenues will be spread evenly according to population around the country rather than staying in the region where the oil is found.

Sunni Arabs have long feared that Shi'ites and ethnic Kurds, who sit on top of Iraq's vast oil fields, will not share the country's wealth in an even way.

The Muslim Scholars Association, a leading Sunni clerics group accused by the Iraqi government of fomenting violence, said the law as drafted was "invalid and lacks legitimacy".


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2756835&mesg_id=2756835

[Roland99]

3. And will the death toll be increased once some of those 50+ in critical condition die?

Esp. given how the hospitals there must be crunched for decent staff and resources, I don't see how all 50 of those critically wounded could survive.

:(

[oberliner]

5. 2 suicide bombers kill 93 in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two suicide bombers blew themselves up Tuesday in a crowd of Shiite pilgrims streaming toward the holy city of Karbala, killing 93 people in one of several attacks targeting the faithful ahead of a weekend holiday.

The attack came a day after U.S. forces suffered their deadliest day in nearly a month — nine American soldiers were killed in explosions north of Baghdad, the military said Tuesday.

The coordinated attack Tuesday happened on a main street in Hillah, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Baghdad, said Capt. Muthana Khalid. He said 93 people were killed and 164 wounded.

An Associated Press cameraman at the scene said the bombers struck a crowd of pilgrims filing into a pedestrian area. Ambulances and Iraqi police were swarming the area and there was no immediate sign of U.S. forces.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070306/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=AkVIT0lTn3kbPbdCrp3Laqes0NUE

[tex-wyo-dem]

6. AP: 2 suicide bombers kill 93 in Iraq

2 suicide bombers kill 93 in Iraq

By LAUREN FRAYER, Associated Press Writer
17 minutes ago


BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two suicide bombers blew themselves up Tuesday in a crowd of Shiite pilgrims streaming toward the holy city of Karbala, killing 93 people in one of several attacks targeting the faithful ahead of a weekend holiday.

The attack came a day after U.S. forces suffered their deadliest day in nearly a month — nine American soldiers were killed in explosions north of Baghdad, the military said Tuesday.

The coordinated attack Tuesday happened on a main street in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, said Capt. Muthana Khalid. He said 93 people were killed and more than 164 wounded.

Two men wearing explosives belts mingled among pilgrims lining up to be searched at a checkpoint before a bridge, then blew themselves up, said Brig. Gen. Othman al-Ghanemi, the regional police commander.

<more>

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070306/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[krispos42]

7. Jesus!

Wow, that's a bad one, even for Baghdad!

Those poor people...

[tanyev]

8. Oh, no.

:cry:

[maddezmom]

9. Attacks kill 149 Shi'ite pilgrims in Iraq

HILLA, Iraq, March 6 (Reuters) - Insurgents killed 149 Shi'ite pilgrims heading for the holy Iraqi city of Kerbala on Tuesday, including 115 when two suicide bombers blew themselves up in one of the deadliest attacks of the 4-year war.

The attacks, just over a year after the bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in the city of Samarra, are likely to increase sectarian tensions between majority Shi'ites and Sunni Arabs that are pushing the country to the brink of all-out civil war.

Two suicide bombers strapped with explosives detonated themselves almost simultaneously in a busy street lined with tents in the city of Hilla, south of Baghdad, killing 115 people, local hospital officials said.

The tents had been set up to offer food, drink and resting areas for pilgrims. At least 200 people were wounded in that attack, the hospital officials said.

~snip~

U.S. President George W. Bush insisted on Tuesday a new security plan in Baghdad was making gradual progress, despite the killing of nine U.S. soldiers north of the capital in two separate bomb attacks on Monday.

More than 3,185 American soldiers have died in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.

more:http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IBO654663.htm

[llmart]

10. Now I'm really confused.......

I could swear that the Coward-in-Chief just told us that we were making progress. My, my. Whom shall I believe?

[maddezmom]

11. Sunni insurgents target Shiite pilgrims

Sunni insurgents target Shiite pilgrims
By Leila Fadel
McClatchy Newspapers

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Sunni Muslim insurgents, seemingly undeterred by the new security plan for Baghdad, struck boldly across Iraq on Tuesday, killing at least 93 Shiite pilgrims in a grisly double suicide bombing in southern Iraq and mounting a massive assault in the north that freed at least 140 prisoners, most of them affiliated with al-Qaida.


Nine U.S. soldiers died in roadside bombings, six in Salah ad Din province and three in Diyala province. Both provinces are areas of fierce insurgent activity.


Fourteen more 14 Shiite pilgrims were killed in Baghdad as they passed through mostly Sunni neighborhoods as part of a rite commemorating the seventh-century massacre of the Imam Hussein, the prophet Muhammad's grandson, and 71 family members and followers.


Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki condemned the violence. But supporters of the Mahdi Army militia of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said the government was partly to blame. Its Baghdad security plan forced the militia underground, it said, instead of allowing it to protect the pilgrims as it had in previous years.


"The government security forces hold part of the responsibility," said Falah Shanshal, a legislator from the al-Sadr bloc. "No incidents happened in the last few years when the Sadrists cooperated with the security forces."

more:http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/16846929.htm

[NuttyFluffers]

12. if this is the turning of the corner, i think i'd like to stop and go back home.

i'm afraid if we turn any more corners we're gonna get lost. oh wait, too late.