Iraq bus blast kills more than 30 during Eid holiday

Thaier Al-sudani / REUTERS

Residents inspect the site of a bomb attack in Baghdad Oct. 27, 2012. Two blasts hit a Baghdad Shi'ite neighborhood and a bus full of Iranian pilgrims on Saturday, killing at least 30 people on the second day of the Islamic Eid al Adha religious festival, police and hospital sources said.

 

BAGHDAD — Bombings on Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad and a blast on an Iranian pilgrim bus killed more than 30 people on Saturday, marring Iraqi celebrations of the second day of the Islamic Eid al Adha religious festival.

Violence in Iraq has eased sharply, but Sunni Islamist insurgents and al-Qaida's Iraq wing often target Shiites in an attempt to stir up the kind of sectarian tensions that dragged the country close to civil war in 2006-2007.


Two car bombs exploded on Saturday, one ripping into a restaurant in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City and killing at least 23 people, police and hospital sources said.

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"I was just selling fruit and we were surprised by a huge explosion on the other side of the street," Hassan Falih Shami, a grocery stall owner near the site of the blast. "You can see pools of blood, the shoes and pieces of clothing."

Hours earlier, a roadside bomb planted near an open-air market killed seven people, including three children at a playground. Another blast killed six people when it hit a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims to a Baghdad shrine, police and hospital officials said.

Police said the attack on the Iranian pilgrims came from a bomb that had been attached to their bus. It exploded around 300 yards from a police checkpoint, sending the bus out of control before it flipped over on its side.

Insurgents have carried out at least one major attack a month since the last U.S. troops left in December. Iraqi officials worry Syria's crisis is bolstering Iraqi insurgents.

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The monthly death toll from attacks in Iraq doubled in September to 365, the highest number of casualties in two years, including a series of bombings targeting Shiite neighborhoods that killed more than 100 people.

Security officials had said they believe insurgents would try to carry out a large attack during the religious holiday, which started on Friday.

Car bombs exploded and mortars landed around the Shiite neighborhood of Shula, northwestern Baghdad, on Tuesday killing eight people and wounding 28, and another person was killed by a mortar round in Kadhimiya area.

Reporting by Raheem Salman; Writing by Patrick Markey

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Discuss this post

Glad to see the billions we spent there worked out so well, thanks Washington for the mess of @#$% you got us in.

  • 7 votes
Reply#1 - Sat Oct 27, 2012 5:30 PM EDT

EID or more appropriately IED holiday? It does not matter who they kill with the Muslin religion of the Devil.

  • 5 votes
#1.1 - Sat Oct 27, 2012 6:08 PM EDT

I wonder if the solution to these violence during their holidays would be to abolish all holidays. That will confuse the heck out of religious fanatics.

  • 2 votes
#1.2 - Sat Oct 27, 2012 7:13 PM EDT

Holiday or no holiday, it makes no difference to Muslims; their muhammadan mentality cannot be rationalized.
Muslims are violent during holidays, but if the holidays are removed they will still be violent for being denied a holiday. Kill, kill, kill, that's all they understand. And that's because they are only following the violent Qu'ran.

Muslims are particularly psychotic on Fridays when the frenetic mobs emerge from their mosques. As long as diehard Muslims blindly follow the Qu'ran, it's impossible to have a meaningful dialogue with Muslims. It's like having an intellectual discourse with a toddler. Islam is a psychosis,
As Jesus said: "by their fruits you can tell"

  • 4 votes
#1.3 - Sun Oct 28, 2012 1:41 AM EDT

"Bombings on Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad and a blast on an Iranian pilgrim bus killed more than 30 people on Saturday, marring Iraqi celebrations of the second day of the Islamic Eid al Adha religious festival."

Muslims respecting their own holy days and selecting the days and style for killings. This includes pilgrims too!

What a religion!

How anyone, including Muslims, can declare: Islam is a peaceful relgion?

  • 6 votes
#1.4 - Sun Oct 28, 2012 4:41 AM EDT

Just as there are different versions of Christianity,Catholicism and Jews, there are different types of Muslims. Some wish to only live their religion peacefully, like wheat growing in a lush field, while others seek to exterminate those who don't fit in the with their extremists view, like tares which would choke the wheat. While we in this country lump them all together because their religion is Muslim. Wishing only to burn the whole field down, believing there is no worth at all in either.Yet I have known wonderful people, very loving friendly and extremely peaceful seeking.

I find it tragic that it is so easy, when those who wish to live peacefully are slaughtered by those who are violent, trying to incite war and stir up anger, so regions will become battlefields of conflicts. While propaganda is used to manipulate outsiders. How easy it is to fool people. Especially those who aren't willing to see below the facade and behind the ghastly news stories of death striking the innocent. Wash our hands, we want to do and look the other way.We've had enough of seeing bloodshed, counting tax dollars spent.

This is not our battle, as we watch from our comfortable homes. But theirs we say, not willing to mentally separate the tares from the wheat.It's understandable, this tiredness. At what cost though, if we lose the ability to show compassion towards those slaughtered who are only peaceful and innocent victims?I hope we somehow can remember, evil men will constantly find something to use,as a cover-up excuse for their vicious acts against others. Because evil always hides it true nature and form from the sight of men.

  • 2 votes
#1.5 - Sun Oct 28, 2012 7:54 AM EDT

I thought I read somwhere that Obama killed Osama and al Qaeda was decimated and the Muslim world would be transformed on P.Obama's Inaugu-Coronation Day...

http://www.examiner.com/video/barak-obama-muslims-will-like-us-if-i-m-elected

  • 1 vote
#1.6 - Sun Oct 28, 2012 10:10 AM EDT
Reply

Muslim's killing Muslim's just shocking. See how we helped them? We removed the dictator that held it all together by ruling with an iron fist and fear. Take that away an all you have is Islamic anarchy.

  • 9 votes
Reply#2 - Sat Oct 27, 2012 5:43 PM EDT

At least they are targeting each other and not us.

  • 3 votes
#2.1 - Sat Oct 27, 2012 5:44 PM EDT

Fix it or contain it? 60 years ago we would have flattened it.

    #2.2 - Sat Oct 27, 2012 5:45 PM EDT

    Anti - They still target us. They just arrested 11 terrorits wanabees in Indonesia.

    • 2 votes
    #2.3 - Sat Oct 27, 2012 7:18 PM EDT

    You can't go against what Allah predicted. All drones, aircrafts, etc will fail!

    Allah wants cleaning of Islam. So he is not even leaving piligrimas!

    Any how, for a poor infidel like I: more the merrier!

      #2.4 - Sun Oct 28, 2012 4:44 AM EDT

      Antistupidity: Don't worry, they'll get to us soon enough. It's a cycle: First they get rid of the infidels in their own ranks and then they devote themselves to targeting other religions. The best we can hope for is to try to educate the next generation of Muslims so they don't grow up to be like their parents.

      • 1 vote
      #2.5 - Sun Oct 28, 2012 2:51 PM EDT
      Reply

      Hearts and minds, people.

      Religion of pieces! Pieces of people on the ground!

      • 6 votes
      Reply#3 - Sat Oct 27, 2012 5:44 PM EDT

      Bore...bore...bore...

      (Let me know who wins.)

        Reply#4 - Sat Oct 27, 2012 5:47 PM EDT

        Muslims celebrate eid "holiday." People are Blown Up. Muslims celebrate anyday. People are Blown Up. satan and mohammed are Laughing their heads off at you.

        • 6 votes
        Reply#5 - Sat Oct 27, 2012 6:05 PM EDT

        This is a strange way to celebrate Eid. They just keep blowing people up?

        • 1 vote
        Reply#6 - Sat Oct 27, 2012 6:09 PM EDT

        Brethren behaving badly beyond borders bringing bombing blasts blowing bodies to bloody bits. Bastards.

        • 1 vote
        Reply#8 - Sat Oct 27, 2012 6:58 PM EDT

        I can only hope they keep this type of behavior happening. It is the only way to abolish the virus known as islam. A virus has never been eradicated by logic or science. All we can do is quarantine the virus, let the virus run its course and kill all of the hosts..........then.........no virus.

        • 1 vote
        Reply#9 - Sat Oct 27, 2012 8:40 PM EDT

        Seven,

        Love the virus analogy. Love those that try and compare this virus to any mainstream religion and it's past behavior. These are modern times and we have backward virus's acting as they did thousand's of years ago. Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it, over and over and over.

          Reply#10 - Sat Oct 27, 2012 9:31 PM EDT

          What a bunch of cowards Shiites are?

          They talk big, act big and show their bravery before unarmed minorities like Jews, women and others. Then they add their dances when they stone them.

          If Sunnis can’t tolerate a very good leader, like Assad, then Shiites should not accept Sunni rulers either. Sunni rulers have been treating girls, women, Shiites, Sufis, Ahemdias and minorities worse than slaves.

          Time has come for all of us to stand up and battle for liberations from Sunni barbarians and beasts.

          So this means Shiites should ask for their Shiastans wherever they form more than 10 percent.

          They should start their liberation struggles from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan (20 percent), Qatar, Oman and other places which have Sunni rulers.

          Shiites of Iraq should side with Kurds and should stop oil supplies to Turkey for supporting the Sunni Islamic extremists like al-Qaida, MB in Syria.

          Shiites of Bahrain should overthrow their autocratic, corrupt and despotic Sunni ruler.

          As they have been taking blows and killings by Sunnis, these Sunnis are able to act as they like to Shiites.

          Shiites of Iran should side with Assad and see that all the Sunni rebels are eliminated.

          What are the brave Hezbollah doing?

          They should do suicide bombings in Mecca and Medina. Or else Shiites genocides just like the genocides of non-Muslims by the Sunni Islamic religious Nazis will continue.

            Reply#11 - Sun Oct 28, 2012 4:47 AM EDT

            Interesting that a bus load of Iranian 'pilgrims' was also involved. I wonder if they were the same typr of Revolutionary Guard 'pilgrims' that were captured by the rebels in Syria last month. Leave it to the Sunnis to f*ck up their own religious holiday by attacking other Muslims.

            • 2 votes
            Reply#12 - Sun Oct 28, 2012 10:17 AM EDT
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