Pilgrims flock to Karbala to mark festival of Ashoura

BAGHDAD: Hundreds of thousands of Shiites flocked to Karbala and other shrines across Iraq on Thursday to mark a festival known as Ashoura.

The event marks the anniversary of the 7th century death of Imam Hussein, who was slain in battle near Karbala.

Sunni insurgents in Iraq have frequently targeted Shiite shrines and large religious festivals, and killed thousands of pilgrims since 2004. They have also attacked Iranian pilgrims, very few of whom were allowed to visit Iraq’s holy sites under the former Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein.

Ashoura is expected to peak on Thursday and Friday when the pilgrims – many walking hundreds of miles (kilometres) to reach Karbala to commemorate Imam Hussein’s suffering while dying on the battlefield – converge on the city.

Hussein was the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson.

Lahore blast: Funeral of seven victims held

LAHORE: A combined funeral prayers of seven victims, killed in string of blasts on the mourning procession of Youm-e Ali in Karbala Gamay Shah, held in Nasir Bagh, Lahore.

The seven victims include Kashif, Mohammad Ali, Ali Asghar, Tayyab Raza, Rehmat Ali, Ali Hussain and Ghulam Hussain.

The dead bodies, after funeral, were shifted to different areas of Lahore for burial. A large number of people were present in funeral prayers.

All the routes, leading to Nasir Bagh were closed and a strict vigil was kept on suspects and checking at the entry and exit points was ensured.

The city mourned over three suicide blasts targeting Lahore’s main Yaum-e-Ali procession on Wednesday.

At the end of the mourning procession on Youm-e Ali, 37 mourners died and more than 313 sustained injuries in three suicide blasts near Karbala Gamay Shah and Bhati

Death toll in Lahore attacks rises to 37

LAHORE: Thirty-seven people were killed and over 150 others injured in three back-to-back explosions, occurring in Lahore when processions of Yaum-e-Ali were on their way to conclude at the Karbala Gamay Shah in the city on Wednesday.

The first blast of a cracker occurred in front of the gate of Lower Mall police station, opposite Karbala Gamay Shah building, at 6:55 pm. It caused panic among the mourners, who started running towards the Bhatti Gate.

Meanwhile, the second blast took place in Ghaznavi Street, Urdu Bazaar’s parking area, at around 7 pm when a suicide bomber blew himself up while he was being frisked by a constable. Two persons, along with the constable, lost their lives in the blast. Other policemen standing there fled the spot.

The third blast occurred at the Bhatti Chowk when another suicide bomber blew himself up about 13 minutes after the second blast. As a result, dozens of people received injuries.

A number of people received injuries in stampede when mourners ran in various directions to save their lives. Panic gripped not only the mourners but also the policemen who, instead of maintaining the law and order situation, fled, leaving the injured in pools of blood at the Bhatti Chowk.

The furious mob took the amputated legs of the suicide bomber, who had blown himself up at the Bhatti Gate, to the front gate of the Government College University and vented their anger by hitting them with shoes, sticks and bricks.

The angry mob, armed with clubs and sticks, besieged the Lower Mall police station and set a police truck on fire. The police fired tear-gas shells and resorted to firing into the air from the rooftop of the building to disperse the mob, which was trying to make their forced entry into the building.

A woman said she, along with her two children, huddled behind a counter placed on a footpath as she could not leave the place because of the mad rush. A youth said the explosion was louder than a jet engine sound.

The impact was so great that it shattered windowpanes of the nearby shops and buildings. He said his brother suffered injuries from flying articles. “When I saw the rescue workers coming up, I knew that everything would be all right,” he added.

The angry mob overpowered the policemen and gave them a good thrashing. The policemen standing far away from the scene could not dare come forward to rescue their colleagues. The protesters also pulled drivers of several ambulances out of their vehicles and beat them up. They damaged dozens of ambulances and police vehicles with sticks and bricks.

The protesters chanted slogans against the police over the security lapse. The angry mob also pelted security officials and the media personnel with stones. A police personnel carrier was seen running over the mob when the driver witnessed the angry mob beating up the policemen with kicks, fists and sticks.

Many people complained that the police did not install walkthrough gates at the entry points. According to Rescue 1122, over 150 injured persons had been shifted to various hospitals, and 65 of them, including six policemen, were stated to be critical. Around 85 injured persons were taken to the Mayo Hospital besides 11 bodies brought to the city morgue. At least, 25 injured were taken to the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. Women, children and policemen were among the injured.

Right after the incident, emergency was declared in all the government hospitals while emergency counters were established to facilitate the patients’ relatives. Due to the violent reaction of the protesters, the police could not preserve the crime sites. The charred body parts of many victims were still lying at the crime scene. However, the police recovered the torsos of the two suicide bombers.

Senior police officers, including CCPO Lahore, DIG Operations and others did not reach the crime site. They did not inspect the crime scene, including Bhatti Gate and Ghaznavi Street. The commissioner and the DCO admitted the incident occurred due to a security lapse. No FIR was registered till the filing of the report.

Meanwhile, doctors of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital closed the emergency after an exchange of hot words with policemen and relatives of the injured people. Meanwhile, various political and religious leaders strongly condemned the explosions. They were Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, President Asif Zardari, Pakistan Muslim League-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, PML-Q leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Ch Pervaiz Elahi, Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Syed Munawwar Hasan, leaders of Sunni Ittehad Council and Tahafuz-i-Namoos-i-Risalat Mahaz (TNRM), Haji Fazal Karim, Riaz Hussain Shah, Raghib Hussain Naeemi, and Haji Hanif Tayyab, Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen leader Abdul Khaliq Asadi and others.

PM Gilani, President Zardari, CM Shahbaz Sharif promised to bring the culprits to book and provide all help to the injured at government hospitals.

Severn hurt in firing during procession in Karachi

KARACHI: Seven people sustained injuries when unknown men opened fire during a procession near Empress Market Saddar, Geo News reported Wednesday.

The firing incident took place when a procession of Yaum Ali (RA) was passing off Empress Market in Saddar.

The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital.

The incident was followed by aerial firing by unknown men from an old building in Saddar market.

CCPO Wasim Ahmed said that police and Rangers have surrounded the building and trying to carry out a search by entering into it.

Several injured in Lahore cracker blast

LAHORE: Several people received minor injuries when a cracker went off in the middle of a Yaum-e-Ali (RA) procession here at Karbala Gaame Shah on Wednesday, Geo News reported.

Second blast in Lahore at Bhaati Chowk; casualties feared

LAHORE: Casualties are feared as another blast takes place at Bhaati Chowk minutes after a cracker blast ripped through a Yaum-e-Ali (RA) procession at Karbala Gaame Shah, Geo News reported Wednesday.

Twin Car Bombs In Karbala Kill Four

BAGHDAD: Iraqi police say a pair of car bombs in the holy city of Karbala killed at least four people and wounded 22, with the second blast detonating near the provincial governor’s home.

Police officials said the first booby-trapped car exploded about 12:30 p.m. on Monday near a kindergarten and across from a restaurant popular with police about half a mile from the revered Imam Hussein shrine.

The second blast went off minutes later just 50 yards (meters) away in a residential street near the governor’s residence. He was not near either blast.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.

Bombings in Karbala, 20 killed

BAGHDAD : At least 20 people were killed and 75 wounded on Friday when two car bombs blew up in Iraq’s holy city of Kerbala as hundreds of thousands of Shia pilgrims observed a major religious rite, hospital sources said.

The attack on the final and most important day of the Arbain festival was the third major strike this week.

Police said the bombings occurred on the outskirts of the city 80 km (50 miles) south of Baghdad, but details were sketchy. Arbain marks the end of 40 days of mourning for Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, who died in a 7th century battle at Kerbala.

A bomb planted on a cart pulled by a motorbike killed at least 20 Shia pilgrims on Wednesday as they streamed into Kerbala. More than 40 were killed on the outskirts of the capital on Monday as they began the long walk to Kerbala.

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Bombings in Karbala, 20 killed was first posted on February 5, 2010 at 4:38 pm.

7 Million Shia Mourners Pour into Karbala

: 7 million Shia mourners pour into Karbala, Hundreds of thousands of Shia Muslims have poured into Iraq’s holy city of Karbala, ignoring government warnings that they could be targets of bomb attacks.
Pilgrims from around the world have made their way to the city, 80km south of Baghdad, to mark the religious rite of Arbaeen, which culminates today. Arbaeen marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad who was killed in a seventh century battle in Karbala. Around 30,000 troops and police have been deployed to protect pilgrims. Mohammed al-Moussawi, the head of the provincial council, estimated that seven million pilgrims had visited the city in the past 10 days, including from regional countries and Iran. He said motorbike-propelled carts had been banned from the city. Twenty-five medical teams and 10 mobile clinics have been deployed with 65 ambulances on call. Two units of counter-terrorism forces have been sent to the city from Baghdad.

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7 Million Shia Mourners Pour into Karbala was first posted on February 5, 2010 at 10:40 am.

Google And NSA

Google And NSA, The Washington Post is reporting that internet search giant Google, and America’s electronic security agency, the NSA, will be teaming up to analyze data from the recent cyber attack that is believed to have originated from China. Neither the NSA nor Google is commenting on the partnership, however the Post has an anonymous source who claims, “the alliance is being designed to allow the two organizations to share critical information without violating Google’s policies or laws that protect the privacy of Americans’ online communications.” The Post went on to say, “the deal does not mean the NSA will be viewing users’ searches or e-mail accounts or that Google will be sharing proprietary data.” What do you think? Does the thought of the NSA working with Google make you feel more secure?

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Google And NSA was first posted on February 5, 2010 at 9:37 am.

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