Blasts rock Baghdad, Karbala, killing at least 100

[fantassin]

Blasts rock Baghdad, Karbala

Tuesday, March 2, 2004 Posted: 3:29 AM EST (0829 GMT)



BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A series of explosions early Tuesday rocked a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad and the Shiite holy city of Karbala, during the Muslim sect's Ashoura holiday. Dozens were reported killed or injured.

CNN's Jane Arraf in Baghdad said tens of thousands of pilgrims had filled the streets of the capital city neighborhood for the religious ceremony.

A CNN staff member reported piles of bodies stacked onto pickup trucks as the sounds of ambulances could be heard racing through the streets.

In Karbala, CNN's Brent Sadler said he heard a series of six explosions over five minutes and could see swirls of smoke rising above the city.

Video from the scene showed blood-soaked streets littered with body parts, bodies burning and pilgrims running in panic from the blast sites.

Iraqi police reported at least four mortar explosions at the gates to the city.

Banned for more than 30 years under former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, the Ashoura holiday is the holiest day on the Shiite Muslim calendar.

During Muharram, Shiite Muslims recall the seventh-century death of Hussein, grandson of Islam's prophet, Muhammad.

The violence comes just a day after Iraq's Governing Council agreed on an interim constitution. The council is expected to sign the document after the end of the Shiite feast Ashoura on Wednesday.

At 0930 French time, the France Info network gave a death toll of "at least 40"

At 1000 French time the death toll was announced at 57.

[George W. Bush]

Maybe we had counter-mortar radar there. Hopefully.

[George W. Bush]

Also hopefully this will alienate so-called "resistance groups" and give our boys a lot less headaches

[Trident-za]

Unfortunately, it might just be more likely to cause more tensions between the 3 major ethnic groups.

The reports I read on Yahoo suggested suicide bombers rather than (or in addition to?) mortars.

RIP the iraqi dead, and I feel sorry for the ordniary iraqi dudes who are caught in the middle of this.

[Trident-za]

At least 75 dead in Baghdad alone, apparently....

http://www.*******.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4476287&section=news

[Andersson]

Gerorge W. Bush, I don´t know if you´re only provoking and playing games here, but your comments make me feel sick.

Sounding so hilarious after these terrible news shows that you are not able to make the difference between these horrible acts of reality and some entertaining videogame.

[fantassin]

Death toll has risen to over 100 at 1245 French time; it's apparently the worst terrorist attack since the beginning of the occupation of Iraq.

In Bagdad, US troops that came to try and bring order to the evacuation of the wounded were stoned; they had to fire in the air to disengage.

[Trident-za]

Also hopefully this will alienate so-called "resistance groups" and give our boys a lot less headaches

This may eventually happen, but in the short term I'm afraid that the civilians will be angry with others.....


Crowds of enraged survivors swarmed nearby hospitals, some blaming Americans for stirring up religious tensions by launching the war, others blaming al-Qaida or Sunni extremists.

Stone-throwing Iraqis attacked U.S. Army medics trying to help wounded at Kazimiya, driving the U.S. troops back into their high-walled compound then trying to storm the gates. Soldiers threw smoke grenades and fired shotguns into the air to drive away the mob.



http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=1&u=/ap/20040302/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_42

[Javehn]

Also hopefully this will alienate so-called "resistance groups" and give our boys a lot less headaches

What ??

[Maverick77]

He means the civilians might realize that the resistance is killing them and start to hate the resistance.

Unfortunatly the opposite seems to happen

[Sixgun Symphony]

He means the civilians might realize that the resistance is killing them and start to hate the resistance.

Unfortunatly the opposite seems to happen

Give them a day or two to calm down. By then there should be some evidence of Sunni muslim guilt and by then the Shiites ought to be rational enough to see it.

It may be an opportunity for gaining their cooperation in putting down the Sunni muslim insurgency. That the Sunni muslim minority had been lording it over the Shiites during Saddams reign, I think we could enlist the Shiite muslim majority in policing the Sunni muslims.

[Maverick77]

He means the civilians might realize that the resistance is killing them and start to hate the resistance.

Unfortunatly the opposite seems to happen

Give them a day or two to calm down. By then there should be some evidence of Sunni muslim guilt and by then the Shiites ought to be rational enough to see it.

It may be an opportunity for gaining their cooperation in putting down the Sunni muslim insurgency. That the Sunni muslim minority had been lording it over the Shiites during Saddams reign, I think we could enlist the Shiite muslim majority in policing the Sunni muslims.


thats the problem

thats where cival war starts.

[martinexsquaddie]

some real evil people out there
rip the shia's who got killed
this is planned to start a civil war

[NcDeuce]

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20040302/mdf485829.jpg

An Iraqi Shi'ite walks past a pool of blood at the site of an explosion at the Immam Kadem mosque in Baghdad, March 2, 2004. A wave of suicide bombings and mortar attacks on vast crowds of Shi'ite worshippers killed at least 170 people in Baghdad and Kerbala on Tuesday, Iraq (news - web sites)'s bloodiest day since Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s fall. Leaders of the country's 60 percent Shi'ite majority said the bloodbaths were intended to ignite civil war. The Iraqi Governing Council blamed a Jordanian who Washington says is working for al Qaeda and trying to fuel chaos in Iraq. (Ammar Awad/*******)

:fork: Terrorists

[wholagun]

well as with any bombing in Iraq that kills civilians the US gets blamed for it

[SeanAshi]

2 more blast rock Baghdad uhhhhh!

[el borracho]

I think 143 is the final count.

It sucks because you know that this is gonna come back in the coalitions face. Our best allies there, the good iraqi cops, are gonna get the short end of the stick in the backlash, as they are considered traitors by many. Those guys are getting sold out by their peers and the US gets pointed at as the bad guy. Although Saddam is gone, his legacy of corruption is still intertwined within the system.

I will try to watch al-jazeera tomorrow to see what their take on this is. I can probably tell you already "US fails to stop terrorist attack, 143 of our bretheren martyred."

:petting:

[One?]

The worst part is watching it live :(

2 suicide bombers were in baghdad which points out the works of al-qaeda, or the foriegn insurgents. The coalition is blamed because they are responsible for Iraq's security. The coalition is supposed to keep the foreign fighters and insurgents away from the population. Security was tight in karbala so they used mortars.

2 insurgents were captured somewhere in the south preparing to fire mortars. Aynone know more details?


As for the civil war and retaliation it will not happen. The sunnis and shia of iraq have lived together for ages and never fought (unlike other parts of the world). Some families are half shia and half sunni. They aren't gonna kill eachother, and they are wiser than that.

[George W. Bush]

If anyone cares this is straight from the horse's mouth..

This morning, between 10:00 and 10:30 hours, a series of near-simultaneous
explosions caused numerous casualties in Baghdad and Karbala. The reports
that we have are as follows:

In Baghdad, a number of explosions, vicinity of the Al-Kadhimiya mosque,
caused 58 deaths and over 200 wounded, with blast-type injuries. The Iraqi
police service reports that three suicide bombers detonated explosives in
the vicinity of the mosque, and a fourth suicide bomber, wearing an
explosive vest, was apprehended. All personnel are being treated in the
Ministry of Health facilities.

In Karbala, the commander of Multinational Division Central South reports an
explosion in the city center, as well as multiple explosions three to four
miles from the city center. These explosions killed approximately 85
personnel and wounded approximately 230, with blast-type injuries. The
commander estimates that the explosions were caused by three methods: a
suicide bomber in the city center, explosives alongside the road outside of
the city set off by remote detonation devices, and mortar rounds fired from
nearby the city. Six personnel were apprehended by the Iraqi police service.
No group has claimed responsibilities for these acts.

[Trident-za]

2 suicide bombers were in baghdad which points out the works of al-qaeda, or the foriegn insurgents.

I'm not sure how the presence of 2 suicide bombers equates to Al- Qaeda... can you explain this leap of logic? I'm not necessarily saying that AQ were not behind it, but the logic you present is... odd. Which bit points to AQ - the fact that there were 2 of them, the fact that they were suicide bombers, or the fact that it was in Baghdad??

Have the perpetratures been identified yet? Curiosity etc...

[scm77]

Here's a picture of two US soldiers retreating after being attacked while treating injured iraqis.

http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/images/2004/03/03/image603685x.jpg
Note the baseball bat in the one guys hand. :bash:

[One?]

2 suicide bombers were in baghdad which points out the works of al-qaeda, or the foriegn insurgents.

I'm not sure how the presence of 2 suicide bombers equates to Al- Qaeda... can you explain this leap of logic? I'm not necessarily saying that AQ were not behind it, but the logic you present is... odd. Which bit points to AQ - the fact that there were 2 of them, the fact that they were suicide bombers, or the fact that it was in Baghdad??

Have the perpetratures been identified yet? Curiosity etc...

The only one that would carry out suicide missions (in this day and age) are muslims. The only muslim sect that hates shia to this extent are wahabi muslims. And that would be bin laden and his group (along with saudi arabia and some countries in the gulf). Iraqi citizens will never carry out such an attack, who would kill his neighbour over something like that?

Wahabis already call shia infidels and they clash all the time in pakistan. Most analysts are saying if they were truly suicide bombers then its the works of al-qaeda and its followers. Its the same group that killed Ayatollah Hakim and blew up other mosques in iraq. I belive the US said it was the works of zarkawi, and they have documents to prove it.


There were attempts in najaf to carry attacks but they were caught. So they have people in custody, 3 have been linked the other 12 are still under investigation.