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Ashura violence hits Karachi, Baghdad

Gregg Carlstrom | December 28, 2009 9:26 AM |

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We've been focused on the Ashura protests in Iran -- and the regime's violent crackdown -- but the Shi'ite holiday has been marked by bloody incidents in several other countries, as well.

A bomb killed at least 20 people, and injured scores more, during the Ashura procession in the Pakistani city of Karachi. Police aren't sure if it was a suicide bomber or a timed bomb hidden along the route.

Pakistan ashura bombing aftermath

The BBC reports that angry marchers fired shots into the air and set fire to cars and storefronts after the explosion.

Rehman Malik, the Pakistani interior minister, asked the Shi'a community to cancel any Ashura processions scheduled for the next two days. Sources in Pakistan say at least one procession, in Lahore, has already been postponed.

In Iraq, meanwhile, millions of Shi'ite mourners have converged in Karbala to observe the holiday. The worst of Iraq's Ashura violence seems to have happened last week; as Evan reported on Friday, bombings killed dozens of people in Hilla and Baghdad.

Five people were killed yesterday in two bombings, one in Tuz Khormato, a mixed city near Kirkuk, and the other in Baghdad's Mansour district. There were no reports of violence in Karbala, but 5,000 Shi'ites staged a peaceful protest against Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's government. Protesters complained about a range of issues, including corruption and security.

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Categories: Iraq, Life and Culture, Pakistan, Regional News, Religion, War and Terrorism

Tags: Ashura, Nouri al-Maliki, Rehman Malik, suicide bombings

1 Comment

aijaz — February 6, 2010 9:45 AM

terrorist not have any riligon for other human

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