Strong explosion rocks Iraqi Shiite holy city (Karbala)

[maddezmom]

KARBALA, Iraq (AFP) - A strong explosion rocked the centre of the holy city of Karbala in southern as hundred of thousands of Shiite pilgrims gathered for a religious commemoration, witnesses say.

The blast occurred near the Imam Hussein shrine but its cause was not immediately known.

Shiite pilgrims have been running a gauntlet of bullets and bombs as they walked to Karbala to join Monday's annual commemoration marking the end of the 40-day mourning period for Prophet Mohammed's grandson, Imam Hussein, killed near the city in 680 AD.

A dozen pilgrims so far have been killed or wounded by roadside bombs and drive-by shootings on their way to the holy city.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060319/wl_afp/iraqunrestkarbala_060319081734

[Erika]

1. and the mayhem continues

Saddam controlled it.

[radfringe]

2. but

:sarcasm: it's not a civil war.....

[Behind the Aegis]

3. It's not civil war...

...YET! Until we leave, it will be nothing more than a "cluster fuck." We will never have a stabilizing effect in Iraq, and once we leave, the country will, most likely, fall into a full-scale civil war.

[kurth]

4. Nope. No civil war. It's all foreign terrorists vs. Iraqis

Can you believe this shit?

[cantstandbush]

5. They are destroying Islam on their own. We should come home now. n/t

[ckramer]

6. Powerful Explosion Rocks Holy Shiite City of Kerbala

A strong blast ripped through Karbala, a holy city located some 110 km south of Baghdad, on Sunday morning when many Shiite Muslims rallied in the city center for a religious commemoration, said reports reaching here from Karbala.
A loud explosion was heard near the Imam Hussein mosque. There is no immediate report on casualties.

The blast occurred when thousands of Shiite Muslims went to the mosque for an annual commemoration slated for Monday, when a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein came to an end.

Imam Hussein, one of the Islamic Prophet Mohammad's grandsons, was killed and buried in the city in 680 AD. Hussein's brother, Imam Abbas, was also buried in Karbala, which makes the city one of the holiest cities in Iraq.

link

[jpak]

7. I would like to be the first to say

Oh shit

[tanyev]

8. Is it civil war yet?

[MnFats]

9. Is it civil war yet? Of course not. Last throes? sure. soon the chocolates

and flowers. Will we be welcomed as liberators? Any day now.
will we fake tape of Iraqis tearing down a Saddam statue for the media? Darn right!
Will we impose our strand of democracy on these people? Sure will.
Six weeks? don't think so.
Are the insurgents in retreat? Haven't I said so many times?
Will you gus in the media ever learn?
Sheesh!

[freefall]

10. Iraqi Prime Minister says they ARE in a civil war.

"It is unfortunate that we are in civil war. We are losing each day as an average 50 to 60 people throughout the country, if not more," former interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi told British Broadcasting Corp. "If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is."

Of course US officals don't agree.

"Personally don't believe, one, that we're there now; two, that civil war is imminent; and, three, that it is inevitable that it will happen," Gen. George Casey, the U.S. commander in Iraq, said in an interview with Fox television."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060319/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=AsoarlmuFhIc5etx0yw99LBvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

Peace,

freefall

[sarcasmo]

11. Holy Shiite!

[Teaser]

12. Time to retire that phrase, I think

It must have been used at least 5000 times on DU already :)

[HuffleClaw]

13. and in a few days we'll learn that 'coalition forces' were in the area

shortly before the attack...

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. Apparently it was a missile

A missile was fired into a Shia holy city Sunday as hundreds of thousands gathered for a major religious holiday, raising fears of civil war on the third anniversary of America’s war on Iraq.

The 122 millimetre Grad missile, one of three fired at the southern shrine city of Karbala, caused no casualties but came as a sea of Shia pilgrims gathered to commemorate the death of Imam Hussein (RA), Prophet Mohammed’s (peace be upon him) grandson, Governor Aqil Khazali told a news conference.
...
“This is the first time that the terrorists used this type of missile,” the governor said, adding that they were fired from the Musayyib region, about 20 kilometres (15 miles) away.

Karbala police chief General Razeq Al Tayi said the missiles were fired from a rural area, adding “we have no way of preventing such attacks as we have no aerial observation capabilities”.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C03%5C20%5Cstory_20-3-2006_pg7_1

[msongs]

16. aerial capabilities -get bush to flyover in AF one and

leave the crew at home so they will be safe

[VegasWolf]

15. Sorry, can't help myself from saying this awful pun, but the Shiite has hit

the fan.