Bombs kill 8 Iranian pilgrims near Baghdad shrine

[December 04, 2010]  BAGHDAD (AP) -- Bombs exploded Saturday near a revered Shiite Muslim shrine in northern Baghdad, killing eight Iranian pilgrims in separate attacks, authorities said.

In the deadliest strike, a pair of bombs killed five pilgrims among a group resting near the gold-domed Moussa al-Kadhim mosque in the Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah. Nearby, a car bomb hit a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims in Baghdad's Shiite-dominated Shula area, killing three.

The two attacks wounded 52 people. The casualties were confirmed by hospital officials.

Attacks by Sunni extremists on Shiite pilgrims and Iraqi Shiites helped fuel a surge of violence between the two main Islamic sects during the height of Iraq's bloodshed between 2005 and 2007, as the insurgency against U.S. forces gave way to sectarian fighting.

Shiite pilgrims come from all over the world to visit shrines and mosques in Iraq that are revered by Shiites, but the vast majority of the religious tourists are Iranians.

Across the city, in another Shiite neighborhood, a car packed with explosives blew up, killing three more people, police said. The 11 a.m. blast occurred in the Baiyaa area.

Earlier, police said a roadside bomb in central Baghdad killed one passer-by. Police said two other roadside bombs across the capital appeared to target patrols of security forces, but no one was killed.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

[Associated Press; By BUSHRA JUHI]

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