Bomber kills 13 in Iraq as Shi'ites start Ramadan

[sabra]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/MAC556466.htm

Bomber kills 13 in Iraq as Shi'ites start Ramadan


HILLA, Iraq, Oct 5 (Reuters) - A suicide car bomber killed 13 people and wounded about 40 outside a mosque in Hilla, south of Baghdad, on Wednesday as Shi'ite worshippers were gathering for the start of the holy month of Ramadan, police sources said.

Iraqi and U.S. officials have voiced fears of an increase in violence ahead of the Oct. 15 referendum on a new constitution, which Sunni Arab insurgents have vowed to disrupt.

The capital of Babil province, Hilla lies on one of Iraq's sectarian faultlines, with a large Shi'ite Muslim population living among minority Sunni Arabs, some of whom were encouraged to settle there under the rule of Saddam Hussein.

[seriousstan]

1. At least 25 Iraqis have been killed and about 87 wounded

At least 25 Iraqis have been killed and about 87 wounded in a car-bomb blast targeting Ibn al-Nama mosque in the city of Hilla, south of Baghdad, police and hospital officials said.



Some others said Wednesday's deadly blast was caused by an explosive devise planted inside the mosque, Aljazeera reported.

The bomb exploded at the entrance of the Shia Muslim mosque where worshippers had gathered for prayers before the breaking of the fast on the first day of Ramadan, AP reported quoting police and hospital officials.

The explosion ripped through strings of light-bulbs and green and red flags hung around the entrance to celebrate the start of the holy month. The mosque's facade was ravaged, shops nearby were detroyed and several cars were damaged.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/64BBF94B-85E8-4334-AA3E-973DAF84CABD.htm

Update?

[Bonobo]

2. Black Ops are busy this time of year... British or US, I wonder...

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. Bomber hits Shia mosque in Iraq

5 October 2005, 21:36 GMT

A bomb has killed at least 25 people and wounded 87 others at a Shia mosque in Hilla, south of Baghdad.

The bomb exploded as worshippers were gathering for prayers on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan.

Police said the roof of the mosque had collapsed and that people were trapped in the rubble.

Iraqi Sunni Muslims began Ramadan on Tuesday. It is the third year in a row that the two groups have begun fasting on different days.

Lying on the country's sectarian fault line, Hilla has witnessed some of the bloodiest attacks on Shia Muslims by Sunni insurgents in the violence that has followed the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4313382.stm

I think this is a new one?

[LynnTheDem]

4. "by Sunni insurgents"...

And yet every week the US military admits they don't have a fucking clue who the insurgents are.

Gotta keep insisting it's just them Saddam loyalist Sunnis though.

[cantstandbush]

5. A bomb from above? so the insurgents are flying planes now?

OK story says bomber walked into the mosque. Roof collapsed from blast. Whew!! My mistake.

[Skink]

6. This can't be good

[seriousstan]

7. Dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1828455&mesg_id=1828455