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Abaya Clad Female Suicide Bomber Kills 40+ in Baghdad
 BAGHDAD -- A female suicide bomber walking among Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad detonated an explosives belt on Monday, killing at least 41 people and wounding more than 100, officials said.It was the first major strike this year against pilgrims making their way to the southern city of Karbala to mark a Shiite holy day. It raised fears of an escalation of attacks when the pilgrimage culminates on Friday. The bomber hid the explosives underneath an abaya -- a women's black cloak that covers from head to toe -- abaya, aka, the chador or the burqa; actually, strictly speaking, it only covers from the neck down, the niqāb covers the head to the neck. as she joined a group of pilgrims on the outskirts of the Shiite-dominated northern neighborhood of Shaab, said Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, Baghdad's top military spokesman. This week, hundreds of thousands of Shiites make the pilgrimage to Karbala to mark the end of 40 days of mourning that follows Ashoura, the anniversary of the death Imam Hussein, one of two revered Shiite figures buried there. Posted by: lord garth 2010-02-01 |
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