Monday, February 12, 2007
Bombs kill 64 on first anniversary of al-Askari shrine attack
Security
(Reuters) Three bomb attacks at markets in central Baghdad killed at least 64 people on Monday as Iraqis marked the first anniversary of a Shi'ite shrine bombing that pitched the country to the brink of civil war. In the deadliest attack, twin car bombings exploded in quick succession in the Shorja wholesale market, killing at least 59 people and wounding 150, police said. Interior Ministry sources said the blasts were caused by a car bomb and a roadside bomb.
A separate roadside bomb attack at the Bab al-Sharji market, also in central Baghdad and home to Sunni Arab and Shi'ite traders, killed at least five people, police sources said. The attacks occurred around the same time as Shi'ite government officials, including Maliki, held several minutes of silence to mark the first anniversary under the Islamic calendar of the bombing of the al-Askari shrine in Samarra. Under the Gregorian calendar the bombing was on Feb. 22.Earlier, Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani urged followers not to seek revenge against Sunnis.Sistani said the Samarra bombing, blamed on Sunni militants, had plunged Iraq into a cycle of "blind violence".
