/ 8 July 2010

Baghdad attacks on Shi’ite pilgrims kill 60 in three days

Two bombings in Baghdad on Thursday killed seven people, bringing the death toll from attacks against Shi’ite pilgrims over the past three days to at least 60, security sources said.

A roadside bomb in the central Bab al-Muazam neighbourhood killed four people and wounded 46, while a second bomb in the south-eastern Mashtal district killed three and wounded 31, a security official said.

Attacks since Tuesday on the tens of thousands of Shi’ite faithful taking part in the pilgrimage to the Musa Kadhim shrine have now wounded more than 300 people since Tuesday, security sources.

The Shi’ite majority in Iraq have been a main target of Sunni Arab armed groups since the United States-led invasion of 2003 toppled now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-dominated regime.

Pilgrimages to the Shi’ite holy places have been repeatedly hit. — AFP