Powerful Explosions In Karbala Kills Over 40 Shi’ite Pilgrims

Karbala experienced two very powerful explosions on February 5 2010, which killed over forty Shi’ite pilgrims. The attack in the holy city in Iraq is the latest in several similar bombings, which took place during the week.

The explosions were targeted at scores of Shi’ites during a pilgrimage, which took place in Karbala.

The third in a set of organized attacks, this one could be counted as the third biggest terror upheaval against Shi’ite pilgrims in a week. On Wednesday, February 3 2010, a suicide bombing in the very same city killed close to 25 Shi’ite pilgrims. The Monday of that week saw a female suicide bomber blow herself up in the midst of a mass of pilgrims, killing around 40 and leaving many more wounded.

The crowds of Shi’ite pilgrims on Friday were heavily concentrated with witnesses commenting that even a small explosion could easily have killed or wounded quite a number of them. Pilgrims fleeing the first bomb explosion, had unfortunately been caught when the second bomb went off, said other witnesses.

Close to 10 million pilgrims hailing from Kuwait, Iran, Bahrain, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia are present in Karbala for the pilgrimage, according to Iraqi authorities. The pilgrimage is being held to mark the fortieth day following the slaying of Hussein who was Prophet Mohammed’s grandson.

While the Iraqi government is taking steps to assist all those wounded in the explosions, the country’s Health Minister Salah al Hasnawi stated that government ambulances would be deployed to transport the wounded back to their homes, while emergency rescue teams seem to be leading all assistance schemes.

Amaleddin al Hir, the provincial governor blamed the twin explosions on “elements of al Qaeda” that were “abetted by Baathists” from the Saddam Hussein regime.
Security has been upped on all routes from Baghdad to Karbala with numerous checkpoints set up as well.