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Seven Shiites Shot
Gunmen hiding in reeds in a Sunni town south of Baghdad killed seven Shiite pilgrims Sunday as they were marching to a shrine in the capital for a major holiday, officials said.The young men were ambushed when the attackers opened fire in Madain, about 14 miles southeast of Baghdad, as they were on their way to the shrine in the Baghdad neighborhood of Kazimiyah, a police officer said. The slain men had begun their trek farther south in the Shiite town of Suwayrah, according to the officer, who is based in Baghdad and read the report about the attack. An official at the Baghdad hospital where the bodies were taken confirmed the killings, but both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. The area where the attack occurred is a former al-Qaeda in Iraq stronghold that has seen a steep drop in violence after local Sunnis joined forces with the Americans against the terror network. Members of so-called awakening councils now patrol the streets of Madain and other cities in Baghdad's southern belts. Authorities also have tightened security measures as tens of thousands of people are expected to converge on Kazimiyah to mark the death of an 8th century Shiite saint buried in the golden domed shrine there. Posted by: Bobby 2008-07-28 |
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