Bombs target Iraq Shi'ite ritual
- 13 years ago
Rubble and debris line Iraqi streets after a series of explosions coincide with the annual Shi'ite ritual of Ashura.
Attacks in Hilla and Baghdad left more than 30 people dead.
The first car bomb exploded amid a procession in the city of Hilla, 100km south of the Iraqi capital, killing mostly women and children.
(SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) LOCAL CITIZEN, SAYING:
"A car bomb went off here while men of the procession were getting ready to do tatbeer (cut their heads with swords in a sign of grief). The blast caused damage and killed and wounded a number of people. Six members of my family were killed in the attack."
In Baghdad at least 11 were killed and almost 40 others wounded by roadside bomb blasts.
The attacks come at the height of Ashura, which defines Shiite Islam, and commemorates the death of Prophet Mohammad's grandson, Imam Hussein.
Lindsey Parietti, Reuters
Attacks in Hilla and Baghdad left more than 30 people dead.
The first car bomb exploded amid a procession in the city of Hilla, 100km south of the Iraqi capital, killing mostly women and children.
(SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) LOCAL CITIZEN, SAYING:
"A car bomb went off here while men of the procession were getting ready to do tatbeer (cut their heads with swords in a sign of grief). The blast caused damage and killed and wounded a number of people. Six members of my family were killed in the attack."
In Baghdad at least 11 were killed and almost 40 others wounded by roadside bomb blasts.
The attacks come at the height of Ashura, which defines Shiite Islam, and commemorates the death of Prophet Mohammad's grandson, Imam Hussein.
Lindsey Parietti, Reuters