Car and Roadside Bombings Kill 18 in Baghdad
By VOA News
11 February 2009
Iraqi police say at least 18 people have been killed in multiple bomb blasts in the capital, including a twin bombing at a bus station, as Shi'ite pilgrims make their way toward a holy city south of Baghdad.
Authorities say two near-simultaneous car bomb blasts occurred in southwestern Baghdad's predominantly Shi'ite Bayaa neighborhood on Wednesday. The explosives had been planted inside parked cars near the station.
And two civilians, including at least one Shi'ite pilgrim, were killed and more than 11 people were wounded in two roadside bombings on opposite ends of the capital.
The pilgrims are heading toward the city of Karbala, about 80 kilometers south of Baghdad, for the annual Shi'ite religious ceremony called Arbaeen.
Thousands of pilgrims, dressed in black, are expected to travel to Karbala this week to mark the end of the 40-day mourning period following the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in the seventh century A.D.
Although overall levels of violence in Iraq are down this year, Shi'ite pilgrims have frequently been targeted by bombings in the past, with most of the attacks blamed on Sunni extremist militants.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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