12 killed in Baghdad on last day of Shiite holiday

[July 08, 2010]  BAGHDAD (AP) -- At least 12 people were killed Thursday by bombs targeting the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who defied violence to take part in the final day of a Shiite religious holiday, officials said.

The deaths came one day after nearly 60 people were killed in attacks in and around the Iraqi capital, most of them by a suicide bomber who targeted pilgrims heading to a mosque in northern Baghdad to mark the anniversary of the death of a revered Shiite figure.

While violence in Iraq has plummeted since the height of the insurgency a few years ago, the attacks targeting devout Shiites who walk from across Iraq to take part in the holy occasion underscore the tentative nature of the security gains and the persistent attempts by insurgents to once again foment sectarian divisions.

The attacks come as Iraq is struggling to seat a government a little over four months after the March 7 election failed to bring about a clear winner to lead the country. As opposing political blocs jockey to form a ruling coalition, the ongoing political uncertainty has raised questions about whether insurgents will try to destabilize the country just as American troops are reducing their numbers to 50,000 by the end of August.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks but similar incidents in the past have been blamed on Sunni extremists who view Shiites as nonbelievers and object to the Shiite-led government that took over Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Six people died in eastern Baghdad when a roadside bomb exploded Thursday morning as pilgrims were walking home from the mosque in the Kazimiyah neighborhood, while a car bomb in southern Baghdad killed another person.

Five more people were killed by a roadside bomb in northern Baghdad, said Iraqi hospital and police officials.

Despite the violence, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis continued to stream through the city visiting the shrine as the ceremonies peaked Thursday, which is also for many the beginning of their long walk home. The pilgrimage, although not the most important among Iraq's Shiite-majority, is considered significant.

Hlail Hussein, 33, was eating rice and soup at one of the many tents erected along the roads to the twin-domed shrine for pilgrims to get food and drink for their journey.

"These terrorists and their bombings increase our love for our Imams and increase our determination to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of our Imams," said Hussein, who came to Baghdad five days ago from the southern city of Nasiriya.

A woman pushing her mother in a wheelchair, said she would continue despite the violence.

"Even Saddam's regime could not prevent us from taking part in this march," said Athraa Ali, 30. "We cannot stop living because of these explosions."

Officials raised the death toll from Wednesday's single most deadly attack to 35. The attack by a suicide bomber came as Shiite pilgrims were just about to cross a bridge from the mostly Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah Wednesday evening into the predominantly Shiite area of Kazimiyah where the shrine is located.

The Imams Bridge connecting the two neighborhoods was also the site of a deadly stampede in 2005 sparked by a rumor that a suicide bomber was among the crowd; 900 people were killed in the ensuing melee.

Iraqi security forces have blanketed the city with about 200,000 personnel, and a vehicle ban has been in place across the Kazimiyah neighborhood in an attempt to thwart attacks.

But the sheer number of pilgrims as well as the spread-out nature of the religious event -- with roads around the country blocked to allow pilgrims to walk to and from Baghdad -- make it almost impossible for security forces to protect everyone.

Two people were also killed near Ramadi, 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of Baghdad, when insurgents blew up the houses of three policemen. An official with the Ramadi police department said the policemen were not in the houses at the time.

Ramadi is the provincial capital of Anbar, where police and security officials are often targeted by insurgents who view them as collaborators with the Shiite-led government.

The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

[Associated Press; By REBECCA SANTANA]

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