Code: 396401 Date: 2013/03/03 - 13:53source: ABNAprint

Iraq: Blast at Karbala Close to Holy Shrine of Imam Hussain, Casualties Reported

According to reports, a huge blast heard at holy city of Karbala, at Bain ul Haramain, (between Imam Hussain Holy Shrine and Hadrat Abbas Holy Shrine). 

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - According to ABNA reports, a huge blast heard at holy city of Karbala, at Bain ul Haramain, (between Imam Hussain Holy Shrine and Hadrat Abbas Holy Shrine).

According to al-Manar TV a suicide bomber blew himself up. It is claimed that 10 of people have been martyred and injured.

According to BBC at least two people were killed in a blast in the holy Shia city of Karbala.

Saudi-backed insurgents linked to al-Qaeda have been blamed for much of the recent violence across Iraq.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for Friday's bombings.

Meanwhile Iraqi officials say attacks in two Shiite-dominated areas in the Baghdad region have killed four people and wounded 11.

A police officer says three roadside bombs went off simultaneously on Sunday in the Shiite Husseiniya area northeast of the capital, killing three civilians. He said 11 others, including three policemen, were wounded.

Another police officer said a soldier was killed when a bomb attached to his car exploded in the northern Utaifiya neighborhood.

Two health officials confirmed the causality figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information to reporters.

http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=396401

breaking news:One killed, 14 wounded in Pakistan attack on Shia funeral

Mon Mar 4, 2013 3:21PM GMT
 
At least one person has been killed and 14 others wounded in an attack on a Shia funeral procession held in the Ancholi neighborhood located in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi.

MKA/MA

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/03/04/291884/attack-on-pakistan-shia-funeral-kills-one/

Iraq rocked by wave of explosions

Dozens killed and scores more injured as Sunni extremists target Shia civilians in series of blasts across Baghdad


The remains of a car bomb in Baghdad's Sadr City, part of a series of blasts that rocked Baghdad on the 10th anniversary of the US-led war of 2003. Photograph: STRINGER/IRAQ/REUTERS

Baghdad was convulsed by a deadly wave of explosions as terrorists detonated up to nine explosions in the course of a few hours on Tuesday morning on the 10th anniversary of the US-led invasion.

Early reports suggested that at least 34 people were killed and dozens more wounded as car bombs hit Shia areas, including a mosque and a restaurant across the city.

At the ministry of the interior in central Baghdad, the Guardian heard one explosion in the distance, followed by a rising plume of smoke. Helicopters could be seen hovering above the scene.

An hour later, in another part of the city, a second blast was audible and another column of smoke a half a mile or so away, this time from an attack in Karrada,.

The first bombing took place near a small restaurant in Baghdad's Mashtal neighbourhood, killing four people and wounding 15 at 8am.

Minutes later, two day labourers were killed and eight were wounded when a roadside bomb targeted where they gather each day in an area of New Baghdad.

One eyewitness to the first bombing, who had just arrived at work at 8am, told the Guardian: "It was a huge explosion at the junction close to where my office was, close to a restaurant. I heard the bomb go off in an area which is crowded at this time of day."

A policeman who gave his name only as Ahmed, who was on duty near the scene of another of the explosions, told the Guardian. "It was about 300 metres from me, near where I was on duty in Karrada. It was a car bomb parked by the road close to a place where minibuses park."

The attacks on the 10th anniversary of the first air strikes of the Iraq war, on 19 March 2003, which targeted the Dora Farms where it was thought Saddam Hussein was visiting, have underlined the still bitter sectarian tensions in Iraq.

Ten years ago on Tuesday also marked President George W Bush's announcement in the US of the start of the invasion, with troops crossing the border with Kuwait in force the following day.

Tuesday morning's blasts hit largely Shia areas where people were gathering for work or start the day, including small restaurants and bus stops in the Iraqi capital. At least six attacks occurred within an hour.

Although the anniversary of the fall of Saddam is marked by the government, the day of the invasion is generally ignored by Iraqis, many of whom regard it as the beginning of an occupation that prompted the "sectarian war", which pitted Sunni against Shia for five years of brutal bloodletting.

While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, the attacks bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida in Iraq.

While violence in Iraq has receded in recent years since 2008, tensions have been rising again fanned by Sunni protests over equal rights and human rights abuses in northern and western provinces, in particular in Fallujah.

Analysts have blamed the slow response of the Shia-dominated Iraqi government to the protests for a resurgence in al-Qaida in Iraq, which, some claim, has boosted the number of new terror recruits.

In the sprawling Shia suburb of Sadr City, a sticky bomb placed under a minibus killed three commuters and wounded seven people, while another car bomb exploded in a commercial street in the same Shia area, killing two and wounding 11.

In the north-eastern suburbs of Baghdad, four people were killed and 11 others wounded after a car bomb went off near a small restaurant in Hussainiyah neighbourhood.

In Zafarniyah, two car bombs exploded near a police station, killing five people, including a policeman and wounding 27, said police. In northern Baghdad, a car bomb went off near a bus stop, killing three people and wounding 13.

In the city centre, a car bomb exploded near a restaurant close to the well-protected green zone, killing six people, including two soldiers and wounding more than 15. In Shulla, a car bomb exploded near an outdoor market, killing five people and wounding 21.

In response to the wave of attacks, the prime minister, Nouri al Maliki, announced he was delaying the holding of provincial elections – due in April – in Anbar and Nineveh provinces that have been at the heart of a three-month-long Sunni uprising that has partly driven recent tensions in Iraq.

http://m.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/19/iraq-rocked-wave-explosions

Ayatollah Hakim critical of UN for silence over Shia killing in Iraq and Pakistan



One of the Islamic Jurists of Najaf in a message to the secretary general of United Nations heavily criticized the silence of this organization and the international community in regards to the Shia massacres occurring especially in Iraq and Pakistan.

Ayatollah Sayed Muhammad Saied Hakim one of the Islamic jurist of Najaf in a message to the secretary general of United Nations strongly denounced the Shia massacre occurring in the world especially in Iraq and Pakistan and emphasized the need to stand against such crimes.

He wrote in his message: “The international community has to be responsible towards the Shia massacres and the terrorist bombings especially in Iraq and Pakistan and not be indifferent toward this disaster.”

He considered attacking the busy areas and the place of worship of Shia as an inhuman crime and asked the United Nations to condemn this kind of acts.

Ayatollah Hakim continued: “Failure to deal with terrorist crimes can make nations pessimistic towards international institutions and organizations.”

It is noteworthy that this message has been given to Martin Coupler the representative of UN in Iraq by Abdul Hadi Hakim parliament member of Iraq and Coupler would give this letter to Ban Ki Moon in few days.

Source: Ahlulbayt News Agency

http://www.aimislam.com/ayatollah-hakim-critical-of-un-for-silence-over-shia-killing-in-iraq-and-pakistan/

Four car bomb attacks in Iraq kill 23 in Baghdad, Kirkuk

Fri Mar 29, 2013 12:30PM GMT

Four bomb attacks have targeted four Shia mosques in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and the northern city of Kirkuk, killing at least 23 people.

According to police officials, the car bomb blasts hit three neighborhoods in Baghdad within an hour of each other and an area of south Kirkuk.

The explosions hit outside mosques where people had gathered for Friday prayers.

The attacks come amid a rise in violence across the country as Iraqis prepare for their first elections in three years. The provincial polls are due to be held in 12 of Iraq's 18 provinces on April 20.

On March 20, two people were killed and four others wounded in a car bomb explosion in the Iraqi capital.

A day earlier, a wave of attacks in mainly Shia-populated neighborhoods of Baghdad killed at least 65 people and injured over 200 others.

MAM/JR/SS

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/03/29/295658/4-bomb-attacks-kill-19-in-iraq/

12 Die as Shiite Mosque in Iraq Is Bombed Again

By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and ZAID THAKER

Published: April 28, 2011

BAGHDAD — A suicide bomber on Thursday attacked a large Shiite mosque in Diyala Province, killing at least 12 people and wounding dozens, according to an Iraqi security official. Sunni and Shiite clerics were meeting in the mosque at the time as part of an effort to show that tensions between the groups had subsided.

It was the fifth attack on the Imam Hussein mosque in the past five years.

The authorities say they believe that the attack was planned by insurgents seeking to disrupt the recent stability in the Balad Ruz district, where the mosque is located, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he did not want to jeopardize his access to delicate information.

“I heard the sound of a big explosion, and then winds of fire came towards me and they hit my chest and pushed me for meters inside the mosque and I lost my consciousness,” said Bassam Jasim, 40, in an interview at a local hospital where he was being treated. His arm was wounded in the attack.

A police officer at the scene, Capt. Mohammed al-Ettibi, said: “You can smell the burned bodies. It’s so strong that you can smell it from 100 meters away.”

There had been about eight months of relative calm in the district after years of violence among Shiites, Sunnis, Turkmens and Kurds. Although violence has significantly decreased in Iraq over the past two years, it has spiked in recent weeks. Recent attacks included the assassinations of local politicians and law enforcement authorities.

In the northern province of Kirkuk on Thursday, a car bomb exploded, killing a local police chief, three of his guards and two others. Twelve people were wounded in the attack.

American and Iraqi officials have said they expect violence to increase during the next several months when the United States is scheduled to withdraw all its troops.


Employees of The New York Times contributed reporting from Diyala and Kirkuk Provinces.

A version of this article appeared in print on April 29, 2011, on page A8 of the New York edition with the headline: 12 Die in Iraq As a Mosque Is Bombed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/29/world/middleeast/29diyala.html?src=tp&smid=fb-share&_r=0

Iraq car bombs kill 15

AFPBy AFP | AFP – 3 hours ago

Three car bombs, including two blasts by suicide attackers, killed 15 people in Iraq on Friday, the latest in a spike in violence that has sparked fears of all-out sectarian war.

Two suicide car bombs struck a police checkpoint near Ramadi, the capital of mostly Sunni Anbar province, killing at least five policemen and wounding eight others, officials said.

And north of Baghdad, a parked vehicle rigged with explosives detonated in the restive town of Muqdadiyah, killing 10 Iranian pilgrims and wounded 30 others.

The blast occurred as the pilgrims' bus passed through the town en route from the Iranian border to the Shiite holy city of Najaf.

Najaf, which lies south of Baghdad, is home to a shrine to a revered figure (Imam Ali) in Shiite Islam.

Shiite Muslims visiting shrines and religious sites form the backbone of Iraq's tourism industry, with the vast majority of pilgrims coming from Iran.

When completing a tour of Iraq's key Shiite religious sites, pilgrims typically visit Najaf, nearby Karbala, Baghdad, and Samarra, the latter of which lies north of the capital.

Sunni militants, including those linked to Al-Qaeda, view Shiites as apostates and often target them. However, no group immediately claimed responsibility for Friday's bombing.

Attacks in Iraq have risen sharply, with May the deadliest month since 2008, as persistent political disputes have given fuel and room for militants to increase their activities.

There has been a heightened level of violence since the beginning of the year, coinciding with rising discontent among the Sunni Arab minority that erupted into protests in late December.

The UN envoy to Iraq has warned that the violence is "ready to explode".

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/iraq-car-bomb-kills-six-iran-pilgrims-093755784.html#qyXZq2H

Urgent: 11 Shiite Muslims Brutally Killed by Saudi-US Backed Terrorists in Iraq

Unidentified gunmen killed on Tuesday morning seven Shiite truck drivers after kidnapping them in north-east of Baquba, capital of Diyala province. Also four displaced Shiite people returning to their home areas were killed on Tuesday by gunmen in Zagenah area, about 25 km northwest of Baquba,” a security official in Diyala said.

more:
http://www.abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=428449

Rebels kill 60 Shia Muslims in Syria

As many as 60 Shia Muslim residents of a Syrian village in east of the country have been massacred by foreign-sponsored militants.

On Tuesday, the militants attacked the village of Hatlah in eastern Deir Ezzor province and took control of it and killed 60 Shia residents, AFP reported.

Nearly a dozen militants were also killed as a group of local residents took up arms to defend their village.

The insurgent attack and the subsequent violence forced the residents of the village to flee their homes.

The Syria crisis began in March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of government forces, have been killed.

Damascus says the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.

The Syrian government says the West and its regional allies, such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, are supporting the militants.

In addition, several international human rights organizations say the militants operating in Syria have committed war crimes.

GJH/AS

http://edition.presstv.ir/iphone/detail.aspx?id=308497

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_PLctjCXHY&feature=youtu.be

Syrian extremist rebels raid Shiite village

Associated Press By SARAH EL DEEB | Associated Press – 24 mins ago.



BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian rebels, including Sunni extremists, stormed a village and battled pro-regime militiamen, killing more than 60 Shiite fighters and civilians in an attack steeped in the sectarian hatreds that increasingly characterize the civil war, activists said Wednesday.

In the raid, which comes at a time when the West is worried that extremists are increasingly joining the rebellion, the victorious fighters raised black Sunni Islamist flags over the eastern village of Hatla. In amateur videos, the fighters — some wearing al-Qaida-style headbands — vented anti-Shiite slurs and fired in the air.

"The homes of the infidel Shiites were burned," the voice behind the camera in one video shouted as smoke rose in the background from several houses.

In another video, the fighters pulled blankets off corpses to show them off, one with a wound to the head. A gunman talking to the camera gloated, saying, "This is your end, dogs." The videos appeared genuine and conformed with other Associated Press reporting on the events depicted.

The attack Tuesday on Hatla, in Syria's Deir el-Zour region near Iraq, underlined the increasingly sectarian nature of the conflict.

The regime called it a "massacre," and some opposition members expressed concern about the nature of the attack. The U.S. and other Western nations have been hesitant to arm the outgunned and outmanned rebels because of Sunni jihadi radicals among their ranks.

State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said the U.S. was "appalled by reports that rebels have killed 60 Shia in Hatla village."

"The motivations and circumstances surrounding this massacre remain unclear, but the United States strongly condemns any and all attacks against civilians," Psaki said.

The uprising began more than two years ago with peaceful protests against President Bashar Assad but later grew into a civil war that has killed more than 80,000 people.

Most of the armed rebels in Syria are from the country's Sunni majority, while Assad has retained core support among the minorities, including his own Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, along with Christians and Shiites.

In the past year, sectarian bitterness has grown in the conflict. Each sect has been accused of massacres against the other, and Sunni and Shiite fighters from other countries have increasingly joined the battle.

But the sense of the fight being a battle between faiths was taken up a notch after Shiite guerrillas from Lebanon's Hezbollah helped Assad's forces take the rebel stronghold of Qusair last week. Some fighters in Hatla can be heard in the video calling the attack "the first revenge for Qusair."

An activist based in Deir el-Zour said the rebel attack was in retaliation for an attack Monday by Shiites from Hatla that killed four rebels.

The town is home to several thousand people, about 30 percent of them Shiites, and was considered a pro-regime community in the Euphrates River valley, where rebels — including the al-Qaida-linked group Jabhat el-Nusra — have taken over much of the territory.

Rebels launched a counterattack Tuesday, said the activist, Thaer al-Deiry, who identified himself only by his nickname for fear of government retaliation, via Skype. He said some 150 Shiites from the village fled across the Euphrates to the government-held village of Jafra.

Activists said many of the dead were pro-government militiamen who had earlier attacked the rebel bases. But there were also many civilians killed in the raid, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based anti-Assad group that has a large network of activists.

"These atrocities were carried out on a sectarian basis," the Observatory said, adding that it was difficult to discern the fighters from the civilian casualties. The group posted two videos from the scene.

More people were believed killed in the fighting, including many children and civilians, according to an opposition figure who was informed of details of the attack. A Shiite mosque in the village was also set on fire, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared retaliation.

The Observatory said thousands of rebels took part in the attack, and at least 10 were killed. A Facebook page of Islamist activists in Deir el-Zour province said Jabhat el-Nusra and rebel fighters from the Free Syrian Army, the main rebel umbrella group, were involved. There was no immediate confirmation from the group, which includes many non-Syrian jihadists.

In the videos, Sunni extremists among the fighters were seen moving through streets that appeared vacant, cheering and insulting Shiites, whom they consider infidels and a breakaway sect from Islam.

"The flag of 'There is no god but God' was raised over the homes of the infidel Shiites," a voice rang out, referring to the black banners used by jihadists around the region, as others fired in the air in celebration. "The mujahedeen are celebrating entering the homes of the rejectionists," a reference to Shiites.

One fighter then addresses the camera, accusing Shiites in the Gulf state of Kuwait of financing the Shiite fighters from the village.

"People of Kuwait, Sunni people of Kuwait, you will be held responsible if you don't kill the Shiites in your country," the fighter, with a black al-Qaida type headband, said, explaining that signs of Shiite Kuwaiti funds were found in the village. "Help your religion, not necessarily the Syrian people."

In a video of a Sunni Kuwaiti cleric, Shafi al-Ajmi, hails the fall of Hatla and promises that other Shiite villages in the northern province of Aleppo will follow.

"Today we took Hatla village and we slaughtered its religious leader," he tells a cheering crowd that raised banners calling for the expulsion of the Lebanese ambassador. He was apparently speaking in Kuwait. "Like you slaughtered our women and children in Qusair, we slaughtered one of your symbols ... and his son."

A pro-Hezbollah Facebook page said the Shiite cleric was missing.

Each side has been accused of mass killings. Last month, Alawite fighters were blamed for killing dozens of civilians in two Sunni towns in western Syria, part of what rebels call an attempt by Alawites to clear their coastal heartland of Sunni communities. In the videos from Hatla, some fighters also refer to the attack as revenge from those two Sunni towns.

Radwan Ziadeh, a leading Syrian opposition figure in exile, described the attack on Hatla as a "dangerous development" triggered by Hezbollah's intervention in Syria.

"It also shows that the revolution is taking a sectarian angle. This will have effects on the long-term not only in Syria but also in Lebanon. There are dangers that that the fanatics from both sides, Shiite and Sunni will have the upper hand," Ziadeh said.

In the latest instance of Syria's violence spilling over its borders, a Syrian government helicopter fired at least two missiles at the border town of Arsal in Lebanon, officials and residents said.

The town is predominantly Sunni Muslim, and support for the Syrian rebels runs high. Scores of rebels and civilians who fled from Qusair have taken refuge there. Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman said the rockets were a "violation of Lebanon's sovereignty."

A statement issued by the Syrian military said Syria "respects Lebanese sovereignty," adding that a Syrian army helicopter was chasing armed groups some of whom fled to Lebanese territory.

Building on its victory in Qusair, the Syrian military has shifted its attention to try to clear rebel-held areas in the province of Homs, a linchpin area linking Damascus with regime strongholds on the Mediterranean coast, and the northern city of Aleppo.

On Wednesday, the Observatory reported heavy clashes in the center of Homs city, mostly in the neighborhood of Wadi Sayeh. The fighting appeared to be an attempt by government forces to separate two main rebel-held areas in the city, Khaldiyeh and the city center.

The state-run news agency SANA said troops killed several gunmen in the town of Talbiseh north of Homs.

The Observatory reported fighting and shelling in the northern Damascus neighborhood of Barzeh, which has witnessed clashes between troops and rebels over the past weeks. It said there were casualties without giving figures.

_____

Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, Bassem Mroue in Beirut, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-extremist-rebels-raid-shiite-village-201114220.html

Picture of the son of Shia Islamic Cleric,Sayyid Ibrahim,who was beheaded by Wahhabi/Salafist terrorists-including a Kuwaiti salafi/Wahhabi cleric,Sheikh Shafi al-Ajami who boasted of the beheading in a youtube video-in Shia village of Hatlah,Syria.the harmless and innocent victims were targeted by the salafist/Wahhabi terrorists for no reason than them being Shia and having beliefs that differ from theirs.let the world and particularly the Christians see that the terror these beasts are committing,muslims are also victims of it.

Source: http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=2&id=429418

[img]http://abna.ir/a/uploads//327/3/327357.jpg[/img]

[img]http://abna.ir/a/uploads//327/3/327358.jpg[/img]

Austine.E:
....muslims can be funny atimes,while ops tries had to show the barbaric and inhuman killing of Shia muslims by fellow muslims(sunnis),i had thought the least other muslims wld do is to sympathize with the situatn for humanity sake and discuss a way out.Reaching out through their various sects,meet-ups group and pass the message of tolerance but rather the reverse is the case,his voice is about being suppressed!my bible tells me that we are equals in the sight of God,the death of anybody,be it muslim,christain,atheists,jews etc depletes humanity and saddens our heart!pls 'sunnis' share the message of love and tolerance! Muslims often shout about the oppression of muslims be it in Gaza and occupied lands but keeps mute in terms of internal tyrany and terrorism,with reference to Iran,Iraq,Afgan,Pakistan,syria etc!

Well said

vedaxcool: This attacks are quite saddening and the handiwork of vile and evil people, may Allah destroy those who slay the innocent! Amin.

I salute you for an unbiased and honest stand. 5 Gbosa to vexacool - gbosa gbosa gbosa gbosa gbosa

Wahhabi/Salafi Takfiri Terrorist Blows Himself Up Today in Shia Mosque in the Iraqi Capital,Baghdad,Killing Tens of Worshippers


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCUFLeq5gS0&feature=youtu.be

21 June 2013 Last updated at 11:19 GMT

Suicide bomb attack on Pakistan Shia mosque 'kills 14'

A suicide bomb attack on a Shia Muslim mosque in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar has killed at least 14 people, police and officials say.

More than 20 people were also reported to have been injured by the blast, which happened during Friday prayers.

No group has yet said they carried out the attack.

In a separate incident, a provincial MP and his son were shot dead by unidentified gunmen as they left a mosque in the southern city of Karachi.

Sajid Qureshi was a member of the MQM party, which mostly represents the descendants of Muslim migrants to Pakistan at the time of the partition of India in 1947.

Manhunt

Police say that three people were involved in the Peshawar attack, including the suicide bomber and two armed accomplices, who shot a policeman before forcibly entering the mosque complex.

Map
Witnesses say around 200 people were in the mosque at the time.

Police say the two accomplices escaped after the bomber detonated his explosive device, and a manhunt is underway in the Chamkani area of Peshawar.

Local TV reports later broadcast pictures of the mosque's blood-splattered floor and walls. Holes in the walls and ceiling caused by ball-bearings that were packed inside the bomb could be clearly seen.

The footage also showed distraught relatives helping to transport wounded victims, their clothes soaked in blood, to a local hospital.

Pakistan's Shia minority is the target of frequent sectarian attacks from Sunni militant groups who consider Shias to be heretics.

The mosque and seminary complex which were attacked are in Peshawar's Gulshan Colony, a Shia-majority area on the outskirts of the city.

Peshawar is close to militant strongholds in the north-western tribal belt, on the Afghan border.

On Saturday, twin attacks by militants in the city of Quetta killed 25 people. No clear motive for the attack was established, but a Sunni militant group was blamed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22999668

25 June 2013 Last updated at 06:26 GMT

Iraq violence: Dozens killed in Baghdad bombingsAn Iraqi policeman stands guard at the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad

A series of car bomb explosions in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, has killed more than 30 people, local officials say.

They say that dozens of people were injured in the blasts that targeted mainly Shia areas of the city.

No group has so far said it carried out the attacks.

There has recently been a surge in sectarian attacks across Iraq. Last month was the bloodiest since June 2008, with 1,045 civilians and security officials killed.

The deadliest attack on Monday was in Baghdad's western district of Jihad, where at least eight people died in twin car bomb blasts on a busy road.

At least five people were also killed in the central Karrada district.

Officials also reported deadly attacks in several other parts of the city.

Elsewhere, at least three people were killed in violence in the northern city of Mosul.

Tensions between Iraq's Shia Muslim majority, which leads the government, and minority Sunnis have been steadily growing since last year.

Sunnis have accused Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of discriminating against them - a claim the government denies.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23039638

25 June 2013 Last updated at 06:26 GMT

Iraq violence: Dozens killed in Baghdad bombingsAn Iraqi policeman stands guard at the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad

A series of car bomb explosions in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, has killed more than 30 people, local officials say.

They say that dozens of people were injured in the blasts that targeted mainly Shia areas of the city.

No group has so far said it carried out the attacks.

There has recently been a surge in sectarian attacks across Iraq. Last month was the bloodiest since June 2008, with 1,045 civilians and security officials killed.

The deadliest attack on Monday was in Baghdad's western district of Jihad, where at least eight people died in twin car bomb blasts on a busy road.

At least five people were also killed in the central Karrada district.

Officials also reported deadly attacks in several other parts of the city.

Elsewhere, at least three people were killed in violence in the northern city of Mosul.

Tensions between Iraq's Shia Muslim majority, which leads the government, and minority Sunnis have been steadily growing since last year.

Sunnis have accused Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of discriminating against them - a claim the government denies.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23039638

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbAmFiDUbvI

Bomber kills 20 Shias in Diyala province

A bomb attack has killed over twenty Shia Muslims in Diyala province, which is located north of Baghdad.

IA/HGL

http://edition.presstv.ir/iphone/detail.aspx?id=311784

54 die: Iraq’s days of carnage drag on

A wave of attacks in Iraq, mostly targeting Shia Muslims, has killed 54 people and injured dozens more, according to Iraqi security and hospital sources.

GJH/HGL

http://edition.presstv.ir/iphone/detail.aspx?id=311950

Iraq attacks on Shias kill 113 in three days

AFP | Jul 3, 2013, 03.27 PM IST

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Iraq-attacks-on-Shias-kill-113-in-three-days/articleshow/20892899.cms

Iraq: Baghdad car bombings kill at least 33 people

BAGHDAD (AP) — A coordinated wave of car bombings tore through commercial streets in Baghdad on Saturday night, killing more than 30 and wounding dozens as insurgents kept up a relentless offensive during the holy month of Ramadan.

The blasts struck in Shiite Muslim areas of the Iraqi capital. Although there was no claim of responsibility, coordinated bombings against Shiites are a favorite tactic of al-Qaida's Iraq branch.

The explosions were all caused by car bombs timed to go off after the breaking of the daily Ramadan fast when many people are out shopping or relaxing in coffee shops, police said.

Bombings and other attacks have killed more than 230 people since the start of Ramadan on July 10. The violence is a continuation of a surge of bloodshed that has been rocking Iraq for months, reviving fears of a return to the widespread sectarian bloodshed that pushed the country to the brink of civil war after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

Saturday's blasts began with an explosion in a busy shopping street that shook buildings in the central Baghdad neighborhood of Karrada. Police say that attack killed nine and wounded 17, and left several shops and food stalls damaged.

It was followed by similar car bombs that struck the northwestern Tobchi district, killing eight and wounding 29, and Baiyaa in western Baghdad, killing thee and wounding 13, authorities said.

Another blast struck Zafaraniyah in southeastern Baghdad, killing six and wounding 15, officials said. Yet another exploded near a bakery in the New Baghdad neighborhood in the southeast, killing three people and wounding 11, authorities said.

Another car bomb exploded in a Shiite part of the religiously mixed western neighborhood of Shurta, a mainly Sunni area, killing four and wounded 12, authorities said.

Hours before the Baghdad blasts, gunmen in pickup trucks shot and killed the local leader of a local Sunni militia opposed to al-Qaida and two of his bodyguards near the city of Baqouba, 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of the Iraqi capital, according to police. Baqouba is the provincial capital of Diyala.

The official, Bassem Mahmoud, headed a Sunni group known as Sahwa, which joined the fight against al-Qaida during the height of Iraq war.


Police provided details of the attacks, while hospital officials confirmed the death tolls. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to media.

These attacks came only a day after a deadly bombing at a Sunni mosque in Diyala killed 22 people and wounded dozens.

Associated Press writers Adam Schreck and Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed to this report.

http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-baghdad-car-bombings-kill-least-33-people-193031212.html

Death toll from Iraq attacks reaches 75

Sun Jul 21, 2013 4:6AM

The death toll from a series of car bombings and shooting attacks in the Iraqi capital Baghdad and other cities has risen to 75.


Twelve car bombs and a roadside bomb struck different commercial areas in Baghdad’s predominantly Shia districts on Saturday.

At least 65 people died and about 200 others were wounded as blasts went off after the breaking of the daily Ramadan fast or Iftar.

In the deadliest attacks, two car bombs claimed the lives of 12 people in Karrada, central Baghdad, while two car explosions and a roadside bomb hit Zafraniyah, southwest Baghdad.

Earlier in the day, gunmen shot and killed Bassem Mahmoud, a leader of the anti-al-Qaeda group Sahwa, and two of his bodyguards near the city of Baqouba, the capital of Diyala Province.

Meanwhile, a bomb blast in Madain, about 20 kilometers (14 miles) southeast of Baghdad, killed five people.

In the northern city of Mosul, an explosion killed one woman and wounded 25 others.

According to the UN, about 2,500 people have been killed in Iraq in the past three months.

Iraq has been experiencing a surge in deadly attacks since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan in early July. Iraqi officials say the acts of violence are being committed as part of a foreign-backed plot to foment sectarian strife in the country.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says militant groups and remnants of the ousted Baathist regime are responsible for the carnage.

DB/HSN

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/07/21/314809/death-toll-from-iraq-attacks-reaches/

Wave of car bombings targets Iraqi Shi'ites, killing 44

Mon, Jul 29 02:45 AM EDT
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Twelve car bombs exploded across Iraq early on Monday, killing at least 44 people in predominantly Shi'ite areas, police and medical sources said.

At least 10 people were killed when two car bombs blew up near a bus station in the city of Kut, 150 kilometers (95 miles) southeast of the capital, police said.

Four more died in a blast in the town of Mahmoudiya, about 30 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad.

The rest of the bombings took place across Baghdad, in Sadr city, Habibiya, Hurriya, Bayaa, Ur, Shurta, Kadhimiya and Risala neighborhoods.

A relentless campaign of bombings and shootings has killed nearly 4,000 people in Iraq since the start of the year, according to violence monitoring group Iraq Body Count.

The violence has raised fears of a return to full-blown conflict in a country where Kurds, Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims have yet to find a stable way of sharing power.

In recent months, Sunni Islamist militants have regained momentum an their insurgency against the Shi'ite-led government, striking with a ferocity not seen in years.

In July alone, more than 810 people have lost their lives in militant attacks.

Sectarian tensions across the region have been inflamed by the civil war in neighboring Syria, which has drawn Shi'ites and Sunnis from Iraq and beyond into battle on opposite sides.

(Reporting by Kareem Raheem and Jaafar al Taie; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by John Stonestreet)

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE96S06420130729?irpc=932

Eid el-Fitr Attacks:


Iraq car bombs kill at least 50 in Shia areas of Baghdad

140 wounded in apparently co-ordinated attacks on markets and busy streets across capital

Agencies

theguardian.com, Saturday 10 August 2013 17.55 BST

A series of car bombs in mainly Shia areas of Baghdad have killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 140, police and medical sources said.

Nine separate explosions on Saturday targeted markets and busy shopping streets, the sources said. The bombings, which appeared co-ordinated, were similar to attacks in Baghdad on Tuesday in which 50 were killed.

Attacks have multiplied in Iraq since the start of the year, with more than 1,000 people killed in July, the highest monthly death toll since 2008, according to the UN.

Sunni Islamist militants have been regaining momentum in their insurgency against the Shia-led government and have been emboldened by the civil war in neighbouring Syria, which has stoked sectarian tensions across the Middle East.

Police said the deadliest of Saturday's attacks took place when a car bomb exploded shortly before sunset near an outdoor market in the south-eastern Baghdad suburb of Jisr Diyala, killing seven people and wounding 20.

A series of car bomb attacks against cafes, markets and restaurants in Shia areas of the capital killed another 33 people and wounded dozens.

Outside Baghdad, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb in a car on a busy street in the town of Tuz Khurmato, 105 miles north of the capital, killing at least 10 people and wounding 45, medical and police sources said.

Tuz Khurmato is located in a particularly violent region over which both the central government and autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan claim jurisdiction.

Police believe the bomber was trying to reach the local headquarters of a Kurdish political party but was unable to reach the building because of increased security in the area, a police source said.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/10/iraq-car-bombs-baghdad

[size=14pt]Car bombs kill nearly 80 in Iraq, target Eid festivities[/size]


By Kareem Raheem and Ahmed Rasheed

BAGHDAD | Sat Aug 10, 2013 2:44pm EDT

(Reuters) - A series of car bombs in mainly Shi'ite areas of Baghdad killed 57 people and wounded more than 150 on Saturday, in what appeared to be coordinated attacks on people celebrating the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The 12 separate blasts targeting markets, busy shopping streets and parks where families like to mark Eid were part of a surge in sectarian violence in Iraq since the start of the year.

This has been one of the deadliest Ramadan months in years, with regular bomb attacks killing scores of people, especially in the capital. The latest bombings were similar to attacks in Baghdad on Tuesday in which 50 died.

More than 1,000 Iraqis have been killed in July, the highest monthly death toll since 2008, according to the United Nations.

The Interior Ministry has said the country faced an "open war" fuelled by Iraq's sectarian divisions and has ramped up security in Baghdad, closing roads and sending out frequent helicopter patrols.

Eighteen months since the last U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq, Sunni Islamist militants have been regaining momentum in their insurgency against the Shi'ite-led government, and have been emboldened by the civil war in neighboring Syria.

On Saturday, the president of Iraqi Kurdistan said his region was prepared to defend Kurds living in neighboring Syria, in what appeared to be the first warning of a possible intervention and a further sign that the conflict is spilling over Syria's borders.

Outside Baghdad, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb in a car on a busy street in the town of Tuz Khurmato, 170 km (105 miles) north of the capital, killing at least 10 people and wounding 45, medical and police sources said.

Tuz Khurmato is located in a particularly violent region over which both the central government and autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan claim jurisdiction.

Police believe the bomber was trying to reach the local headquarters of a Kurdish political party, but was unable to reach the building because of increased security in the area, a police source said.

In the town of Nassiriya, 300 km (185 miles) southeast of Baghdad, twin car bombs near a park killed six people and wounded 25, police and medical sources said.

Pictures showed metal shop fronts contorted by one of the blasts, with blackened scraps of debris littering the ground. Two tires on an axle were all that was left of one of the cars used in the attack.

Car bombs also hit the Shi'ite city of Kerbala, killing four and wounding 11, and targeted a Shi'ite mosque in the northern city of Kirkuk, killing one worshipper and wounding five.

Tensions between Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni factions in Iraq's power-sharing government have been rising, and the renewed violence has sparked fears of a return to the sectarian slaughter of 2006-2007.

Iraqis have endured extreme violence for years, but since the since the start of 2013 the intensity of attacks on civilians has dramatically increased, reversing a trend that had seen the country grow more peaceful.

In recent months insurgents have moved beyond attacking shopping districts to targeting youths playing football and people watching matches on television at the Baghdad cafes which have dared to stay open.

(Additional reporting by Mustafa Mahmoud in Kirkuk, Gassan Hassan in Tikrit, Ali al-Rubaie in Hilla and Aref Mohammed in Basra; Writing by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Sonya Hepinstall)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/10/us-iraq-violence-idUSBRE97905Y20130810

4 September 2013 Last updated at 11:09 GMT

Iraqi Shia family targeted in deadly attack

An attack on a Shia Muslim family living near Baghdad has left at least 16 people dead, Iraqi officials say.

Six children and five women were among those killed when the neighbouring homes of two brothers in the town of Latifiya, 40km (25 miles) south of the capital, were targeted overnight.

A survivor said the gunmen shot anyone they saw before blowing up the houses.

Sectarian violence has surged across Iraq in recent months, reaching its highest level since 2008.

More than 800 people were killed in August alone, with Baghdad province worst affected.

Latifiya is in a religiously-mixed region that came to be known as the "Triangle of Death" at the peak of Iraq's insurgency in 2006 and 2007.

No group said it was behind the latest attack, but Sunni militants linked to al-Qaeda frequently target the country's Shia majority.

"Gunmen broke into our house overnight and shot my father four times in the head, they killed my two brothers, they killed my cousin, they were shooting everyone they saw, I escaped from the back door," one of the survivors, Haneen Mudhhir, told Reuters news agency from hospital.

Surge in violence

Separately, police said five soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb exploded beside their convoy as they passed through the town of Tarmiya, 50km (31 miles) north of Baghdad.

Five police officers were also killed when a suicide bomber attacked a local police headquarters in the northern city of Mosul, they added.

Violent incidents such as these have become a common occurrence in Iraq, with attacks every few days.

On Tuesday, at least 60 people were killed in a series of near-simultaneous car bomb attacks and shootings in several predominantly Shia districts of Baghdad.

More than 5,000 people have been killed and 12,000 injured since January, according to the United Nations.

The spike in deadly violence in recent months comes amid rising sectarian and ethnic tensions, triggered in April by an army raid on a Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp near Hawija.

The protesters were calling for the resignation of Shia Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and denouncing the authorities for allegedly targeting the minority Sunni community.

The country has also seen a spillover of violence from the conflict in Syria, where jihadist rebels linked to the Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni militant umbrella group that includes al-Qaeda, have risen to prominence.

Syria has also exacerbated sectarian tensions, with Iraq's Shia majority largely siding with the Alawite-dominated government, and Iraq's Sunnis backing the rebels, who are drawn mostly from Syria's Sunni majority.

In recent weeks, Iraqi security forces have reportedly arrested hundreds of alleged al-Qaeda members in and around Baghdad as part of a campaign the Shia-led government is calling "Revenge for the martyrs".

But the operations, which have taken place mostly in Sunni districts, have angered the Sunni community and failed to halt the violence.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23958137

56 killed in attacks across Iraq, many reported injured

Updated: Wednesday, September 4, 2013, 11:00 [IST]

Baghdad, Sep 4 : At least 56 people were killed and 170 others wounded in separate attacks in central and eastern Iraq on Tuesday, police said.At least a dozen of car bombs struck the national capital Baghdad on Tuesday evening, mostly-Shiite neighbourhoods, killing 47 people and wounding 163 others, Xinhua reported citing a police source.Eight people were killed and 28 others were wounded when two car bombs exploded in a popular market in Husseiniya area of northeastern Baghdad.A car bomb exploded near a popular restaurant in Talbea area in eastern Baghdad, killing at least eight people and wounding 25 others, the source said. Earlier, four people were killed and 10 injured in a car bomb blast in the same area, he added.Another car bomb explosion in Alam neighbourhood in southwestern Baghdad killed seven people and wounded 15 others. Almost simultaneously, four civilians were killed and 14 wounded when a car bomb exploded in Zafaraniyah area in southeastern Baghdad.In Karrada district, the business area of central Baghdad, six people were killed and 15 others wounded when a car bomb went off.Five people were killed and 16 others wounded when a car bomb exploded in a popular market in New Baghdad, southeastern of Baghdad.Two people were killed and 12 wounded when a car bomb exploded in Shurta neighbourhood in southwestern Baghdad.Similarly, many such explosions were reported from areas in and around Baghdad, killing several people.A group of unidentified gunmen broke into a house before dawn in the suburb of Arab Jubour in southern Baghdad and shot dead a man, his wife and their three sons, an interior ministry source said. Two people were killed by gunmen in Doura district in southern Baghdad, the source added. Bomb explosion were also reported from Jbala, where one person was killed.According to reports, death toll in August reached 841 Jbala is part of the restive area, dubbed 'Triangle of Death', which is a hotbed of insurgency against the US troops and Iraqi security forces. The town is among the clusters of Sunni towns scattered north of Babil's provincial capital city of Hilla, about 100 km south of Baghdad.In Iraq's Diyala province, a bomb attached to a civilian car went off in Maqdadiya city, some 100 km northeast of Baghdad, wounding three people aboard, two of whom were off-duty policemen, a police source said.The monthly death toll from violence of Iraq in August was 841, according to a statement released by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq Sunday. Iraq is witnessing its worst eruption of violence in recent years, which raises fears that the country is sliding back to full-blown civil conflict that peaked in 2006 and 2007, when monthly death toll sometimes exceeded 3,000.IANS For latest updates and breaking news, follow us on Facebook and Twitter Topics: iraq , baghdad , explosions , bomb , killed , injured Story first published: Wednesday, September 4, 2013, 10:36 [IST]

Read more at: http://news.oneindia.in/international/56-killed-in-attacks-across-iraq-1299080.html

Sixteen Shia family members killed in Iraq

Six children and eight women among those killed in overnight attack in town south of Baghdad.
Last Modified: 04 Sep 2013 13:38

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/09/201394121743651749.html

New wave of bombings tears through Baghdad

A string of bombings have hit several neighbourhoods in Baghdad, killing at least 60 people and wounding 170 others.

Last Modified: 30 Sep 2013 15:58

Nine car bombs mainly targeting predominantly Shia neighbourhoods of Baghdad have killed at least 60 people and wounded 170 others, the latest in relentless violence in Iraq in recent months, police sources say.

The bombs hit eight different areas on Monday. The deadliest blast tore through a small vegetable market and its car park in the Kadhimiyah area, killing seven people including two soldiers and wounding sixteen others, a police officer said.

That was followed by four parked car bombs, which went off in quick succession in the neighbourhoods of New Baghdad, Habibiya and Sabaa al-Bour - all striking outdoor markets or car parks.

Security forces were deployed to the affected areas, closing off streets and using sniffer dogs to search for more bombs.

Attacks often target crowded places such as markets, cafes and mosques, seeking to inflict huge numbers of casualties.

No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the latest attacks. They come a day after a suicide bomber attacked mourners at a Shia mosque south of Baghdad, killing 47 people.

On Friday, bombs exploded near two Sunni mosques in Baghdad as worshippers left after prayers, killing six people.

The United Nations mission in Iraq said about 800 Iraqis were killed in acts of violence in August.

Violence in Iraq has reached a level not seen since 2008, when the country was just emerging from its brutal sectarian conflict.

Source:

Al Jazeera and agencies

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/09/new-wave-bombings-tear-through-baghdad-20139308159452785.html