At least 647 people were killed and 301 injured on Wednesday in a stampede in Baghdad on a bridge near a Shi’ite shrine where tens of thousands of the faithful were gathered, a security official said.
Many of the dead drowned after falling off the bridge in a surge of panic triggered by rumours there were suicide bombers in the crowd, in what is by far the deadliest single incident since the United States-led war on Iraq.
The stampede occurred shortly after the Kadhimiya shrine had come under mortar fire, which left at least seven people dead and dozens wounded, as crowds gathered to commemorate the death of a revered figure, Imam Mussa Kazim.
”Dozens of pilgrims fell in the river Tigris as they panicked following rumours of the presence of two suicide bombers in the crowd, while they were crossing Al-Aaimmah bridge near the mosque,” the source said.
The US military said helicopters had fired on suspected rebels who carried out the mortar attack on the shrine and had sent ground units to the area to assist in tracking down those responsible. A dozen individuals were detained for questioning.
”Many women and children were crying as panic broke out after the attacks,” said an Iraqi army officer.
Six other people were wounded when gunmen opened fire on Shi’ite pilgrims in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah neighbourhood, an interior ministry source said.
”The pilgrims were heading towards the Kadhimiyah shrine and had passed a Sunni mosque on the way when some gunmen opened fire on them,” the source said.
In another rebel attack, three Iraqis, including a police officer, were killed in the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk when rebels attacked a police patrol.
The latest round of violence came a day after US air strikes on suspected al-Qaeda hideouts near the Syrian border killed what a security source said was at least 56 people.
The US military said it had no exact number of casualties, but claimed three strikes targeting ”terrorist safe houses” were thought to have killed Abu Islam, a reported al-Qaeda operative, and several associates.
Meanwhile, US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said changes to Iraq’s draft Constitution are still possible, raising the hopes of disgruntled Sunni Arabs.
The move comes as the Sunnis, whose community is believed to form the backbone of the raging insurgency, are seeking alliances to defeat the charter in an October 15 referendum.
Khalilzad hinted that the draft Constitution, presented to Parliament on Sunday after weeks of tortuous negotiations that failed to bring the Sunnis on board, is still an incomplete document.
”If Iraqis among themselves, in the Assembly and of course from outside decide to make some adjustments to the draft that was presented two or three days ago, it is entirely up to them,” he told reporters.
”I believe that a final … draft has not yet been — or the edits have not been — presented yet, so that is something that Iraqis will have to talk to each other and decide for themselves.”
President Jalal Talabani had said on Sunday the draft was ready for the October referendum.
The Sunnis leaders, who are mobilising the community to strike alliances across the sectarian divide, said they are opening talks with radical Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
”We would like to cooperate with Moqtada al-Sadr and very soon we will start negotiations with him,” Saleh al-Motlag, a top Sunni negotiator, said.
Al-Sadr, who has said he rejects any Constitution drafted under the US-led occupation, enjoys widespread support among poor urban Shi’ites. His militia led one of Iraq’s fiercest rebellions against US-led forces last year.
A member of al-Sadr’s movement in Baghdad said: ”Nothing is decided yet. There are several opinions, but as of now we have decided to focus on registering our names to participate in the referendum. The final decision will be taken by al-Sadr later.”
Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari criticised the Arab League over its ”disregard” for Iraq, after its chief demanded to know why the draft fails to refer to the entire country as an Arab nation. Iraq has a number of non-Arab minorities, notably a large Kurdish population.
A contentious article of the draft states that ”Iraq is part of the Muslim world and its Arab people are part of the Arab nation”. — AFP
