A bomb planted in a car has exploded Baghdad ahead of the major Ashura religious commemorations killing at least 13 people on Sunday, November 2, 2014, security officials say.
The blast which was targeted at the Shiites tribe in Iraq, exploded near a tent from which the people were distributing tea and water in the Al-Ilam area in southwest Baghdad, also injured about 30 people, the sources said.
Large cross section of the Shiite pilgrims will flock to the Iraqi shrine city of Karbala for Ashura ceremony, which marks the death of Imam Hussein, one of the most revered figures in Shiite Islam.
According to reports, Pilgrims have been targeted during Ashura before, but this year’s commemorations, which will commence on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, faces greater danger, with the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in control of large areas of the country.
IS, like other Sunni extremist groups, views Shiites as a heretic community and are considered as enemies, thereby frequently targeting them with bombings.
The pilgrimage shall be a major test for the new government headed by Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, and also for Iraq’s security forces, which have over time, struggled to push the militants back.
“A major attack during the commemorations in Karbala, where Imam Hussein is buried, would increase already-significant tensions between Iraq’s Shiite majority and Sunni Arab minority, and could spark revenge attacks,” report says.
