BAGHDAD — BAGHDAD - Bombs hit Shiite pilgrims and others in Baghdad and in a central Iraqi city Thursday, killing at least 27 people and wounding scores more, in the latest attacks in the lead-up to Ashoura, the sect’s most solemn annual rite.
The blasts raised fears of more bloodshed as hundreds of thousands of Shiites head to the holy city of Karbala in central Iraq for ceremonies Sunday to mark the climax of the religious observance. Ashoura’s 10 days of mourning are in remembrance of the killing of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein, in a 680 A.D. battle that sealed the split between Shiites and Sunnis, who now mainly fillthe insurgents’ ranks.
Authorities said twin bombs killed at least 13 people and injured 74 others in the central Iraqi town of Hillah, the capital of Babil province, which is about 60 miles south of Baghdad. The explosions hit a busy bus terminal where many Shiite pilgrims had gathered.
Hours later a bomb targeting a funeral in Baghdad killed nine and wounded 33 in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood, police and hospital officials said. The officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak to media.
It was unclear whether the attackers thought they were targeting an Ashoura procession, when devout Shiites beat themselves with swords and other instruments to showtheir devotion and mourning for Imam Hussein.
Also in Baghdad, another bomb killed five Shiite pilgrims and wounded 18 others on their way to Karbala, police and hospital officials said.
Although Ashoura is essentially an expression of religious grief, it has also become a demonstration of power by Iraq’s majority Shiites. Observance of the holy day was forbidden by Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-led regime. After he was ousted and a Shiite-led government came to power, pilgrims turned out in force to mark the occasion, defying the threat of insurgent attacks.
Information for this article was contributed by Lara Jakes and Sinan Salaheddin of The Associated Press.
Front Section, Pages 5 on 12/25/2009