Iraqi army says female bomber kills at least 35

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-01-04 20:19

BAGHDAD – A female suicide bomber blew herself up on Sunday among a crowd of pilgrims worshipping at a revered Shiite shrine in northern Baghdad, killing at least 35 people and wounding at least 65, the Iraqi army said. There were fears the death toll could rise further.

The attack during one of the holiest periods for Shiite Muslims came just as Iraqi forces took the lead on security under an agreement with the United States that went into effect on New Year's Day. Under that agreement, US forces take a back seat on security issues in much of the country following the Dec. 31 expiration of a UN mandate for foreign troops.

The bomber blew herself up a short distance from the shrine of Imam Mousa al-Kazim, one of the holiest men in Shiite Islam, the army said, adding that many Iranian pilgrims were among the casualties.

The office of Iraqi army spokesman Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said a woman wearing an explosives vest was responsible for the attack, which occurred just before noon in the northern Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah.

The attack came as Shiites prepared to mark Ashura on Jan. 7. Falling on the 10th of Muharram under the Islamic lunar calendar, it is one of the most important holy days for Shiite Muslims and marks the death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein. The first 10 days of Muharram are often marked by pilgrimages to holy sites around Iraq culminating in the Shiite holy city of Karbala.

The Iraqi police and army have deployed thousands of forces to safeguard worshippers, mostly those heading to Karbala south of Baghdad. The city is home to the golden-domed mosques of Imam Hussein and his half-brother Imam Abbas. Hundreds of thousands are expected to pour into the city Tuesday and Wednesday night for the pinnacle of the pilgrimage.

Maj. Gen. Othman Ali Farhood al-Ghanimy, the Iraqi army commander in Karbala, said last week that thousands of foreign pilgrims had arrived for the holy day - including many from neighboring predominantly Shiite Iran.

Although the suicide attack bore all the hallmarks of the Sunni terror group al-Qaida in Iraq, which has killed hundreds of people in bombings against Ashura pilgrims in recent years, other Islamic extremist groups have used the day to stage bloody attacks.

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