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Bomb Kills 4 Pilgrims in Northern Iraq as Millions of Shi'ites Observe
Ashura

   VOA News 27 December 2009

Photo: AP

   A  flag  bearing  the  likeness of Imam Hussein flies as Shiite Muslim
   worshippers  gather during the festival of Ashoura, when faithful show
   their  grief  over  the  7th-century killing of the Prophet Muhammad's
   grandson, Imam Hussein, in Mosul, Iraq, 27 Dec. 2009.

   Iraqi officials say a bomb has exploded among Shi'ite pilgrims marking
   the  holy day of Ashura in northern Iraq, killing at least four people
   and wounding about 20 others.
   Sunday's  blast  in the town of Tuz Khormato is the latest in a series
   of attacks targeting Iraqi Shi'ites in the run up to Ashura.  Millions
   of  Shi'ites  joined processions across Iraq Sunday, the high point of
   the 10-day religious observance.
   Authorities  say  an estimated three million pilgrims were taking part
   in the main procession in the holy city of Karbala, home to the shrine
   of Imam Hussein.
   Men  beat  their  heads  and chests in ritual acts of mourning for the
   seventh-century  killing  of  the  imam,  a  grandson  of  the Prophet
   Muhammad.   No  attacks  were  reported  in  and around Karbala, where
   authorities  deployed  an  extra  25,000 security personnel to prevent
   violence.
   In  the  days leading up to Sunday, attacks on Shi'ite pilgrims across
   Iraq  had  killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 100 others.
   Sunni militants have targeted Shi'ite observances in Iraq in the past.
   Former  Iraqi  leader Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, strictly limited Ashura
   rituals  during  his  rule.  Since his overthrow by U.S.-led forces in
   2003,  Ashura  has  become  a  show  of  strength  for Iraq's majority
   Shi'ites.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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