Blast kills two Shiite pilgrims walking to Karbala

BAGHDAD // A roadside bomb targeting Shiite pilgrims killed two people and wounded eight others south of Baghdad yesterday, Iraqi officials said.

This was the third day in a row in which bombers presumed to be Sunni insurgents have struck at members of the country’s Shiite majority. More than 80 people have been killed in a wave of violence which Iraqis fear will rekindle the large-scale sectarian bloodshed that brought the country to the edge of civil war several years ago. Most of the attacks have been aimed at Shiites com- memorating the Arbaeen, a period ending 40 days of mourning following the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein, a revered figure.

Yesterday’s blast targeted pilgrims walking to Karbala as they passed through the town of Mahmoudiya, about 30 kilometres south of Baghdad, the officials said.

The police and hospital officials spoke on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorised to brief the media.

A series of bombings targeting Shiites claimed the lives of at least 78 people on Thursday, marking the second large-scale attack by mili- tants since US forces pulled out last month. Two more Shiite pilgrims were killed Friday.

In Basra, about 400 people staged a protest yesterday to denounce a decision by the Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, to shelter the country’s top Sunni politician after an arrest warrant was issued against him.

Iraq’s Shiite-led government called for vice president Tariq Al Hashemi’s arrest on terrorism charges as the last American troops left last month.

The standoff over Mr Al Hashemi is at the heart of an ongoing political crisis pitting the leaders of the coun- try’s mostly ethnic- and sectarianbased party blocs against each other.

The protesters demanded that Mr Talabani hand over his deputy so that he can stand trial.

Al Hashemi is staying in a guesthouse owned by Mr Talabani in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the north – effectively out of reach of state security forces.

Some analysts fear that the political crisis, combined with the withdrawal of US forces, will create an atmosphere in which radical armed groups can rebuild themselves.