Over 27 people were killed and 100 were wounded in separate bomb attacks in Iraq on Thursday, December 24, during the Shiite religious festival of Ashura, 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar which is commemorated by Shiites as a day of mourning for the martyrdom of the grandson of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, Husayn ibn Ali, at the Battle of Karbala on October 10, 680 AD.
Twin bombs killed at least 13 people and injured 74 people in Hillah, a city in central Iraq on the river Euphrates and capital of Babil province, which is located about 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad. It targeted the busy bus terminal where many Shiite pilgrims had gathered.
Another blast hit a funeral in Sadr City in eastern Baghdad killed 9 and wounded 30. One more bomb killed 5 pilgrims and wounded 18 in a southern Baghdad neighborhood.
Iraq authorities suspected that Al Qaeda was behind these bomb attacks.
Topics: Al-Qaeda, Baghdad, bomb attacks, bombing, Iraq, Karbala, news, Sadr City, Shiite
