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Car bomb blasts Iraqi holy city of Najaf
At least 17 people have been killed by a car bomb explosion outside a shrine in the holy city of Najaf, according to reports. Iraqâs best-known Shia politician, Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim, is reported to be among the dead. Fox reporting over 20 dead. Somebody put a bomb in al-Hakims car. It blew after prayers were over and he was leaving. The car bomb blew up near the Tomb of Ali in the central Iraqi city, one of the holiest shrines for Shia Muslims, just as main weekly prayers were ending. No group has admitted carrying out the attack. But correspondents say that a power struggle has been going on within what is known as the Hawza - the Shia religious establishment based in Najaf. Eyewitnesses described a scene of bodies scattered on the ground as the injured wandered around the square in panic. The BBCâs Valerie Jones, in Baghdad, said part of the entrance to the mosque is said to have collapsed on the crowd, and many people are feared to be trapped by the debris. A restaurant was also badly damaged in the blast. Dire Revenge(tm) time. Posted by: Steve 2003-08-29 |
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