Bombs targeting Shiite Muslims and security forces in Iraq on Thursday killed 38 people and wounded 107 others in the deadliest day of violence to hit the country in more than two months.
The attacks, the worst since 76 people were killed on September 9, marked the second series of bombings against Shiites this week after three car bombs exploded near their places of worship in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing a dozen and wounding scores more.
The Thursday violence brings the number of people killed in attacks this month to at least 145 -- nine more than in October, reversing a three-month trend of declining death tolls, according to an AFP tally based on security and medical sources.
Two roadside bombs targeting a group of Shiite pilgrims in the city of Hilla killed 28 people and wounded 85 on Thursday, police and medical sources said.
Iraqi security forces cordoned off the area of the blasts and set up checkpoints in the city to search cars, an AFP correspondent said, adding that shops near the site were shuttered after the attacks.
Ali al-Khafaji, the owner of a mobile phone shop in the area of the blasts, said that there was a big explosion near a restaurant where a tent serving food to Shiite pilgrims was set up, followed by another blast when emergency personnel arrived at the scene.
In the shrine city of Karbala, a car bomb exploded under a bridge, killing five people and wounding 13, a police spokesman and a medical official said.
The spokesman said that security forces closed off all roads leading to the old city, where Imam Hussein, one of the most revered figures in Shiite Islam, is buried, and were searching for a second car bomb.
Security forces were also targeted on Thursday.
A suicide car bomb against an army patrol in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, killed three soldiers and wounded three others and four civilians, while a car bomb in Mosul in Iraq's north targeted a police patrol, killing a policeman and a civilian and wounding two more police, security and medical sources said.
Members of Iraq's security forces and the country's Shiite majority are both frequently targeted by Sunni insurgents in bomb attacks.
Millions of pilgrims flock to Karbala each year for Ashura commemorations marking Hussein's death in battle in 680 AD, which peaked on November 25 this year.
While pilgrims have often been targeted by bombings during Ashura that killed dozens, the commemorations were largely free of violence this year, though two attacks against pilgrims killed three people and wounded 35.
Pilgrims also walk from across Iraq to Karbala during the 40-day mourning period that follows Ashura.
"What happened is that security forces were in the peak of readiness and activity during the last occasion (Ashura)," but became less so after the commemorations concluded, Ali al-Haidari, an Iraqi expert in security and strategic issues, told AFP.
"Security forces usually become tired after such occasions, and the enemy benefits from this directly. In addition to that, there is also the absence of modern technologies which can detect explosives," Haidari said.
Violence in Iraq has decreased dramatically from its peak in 2006 and 2007, when brutal sectarian violence swept the country, but attacks remain common.
AFP
Thu Nov 29 2012
![Iraq bombings kill 38 Iraq bombings kill 38](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2012-11/41354247756_295x200.jpg)
People inspecting the scene of the blast
![Wanita dihempap kayu balak mula sedarkan diri Wanita dihempap kayu balak mula sedarkan diri](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/61720789446_Wanitadihempapkay.jpg)
Wanita dihempap kayu balak mula sedarkan diri
Wanita yang nyaris maut akibat dihempap kayu balak dalam kejadian di lampu isyarat di Persimpangan Bendahara, Jalan Gua Musang-Kuala Krai di sini 9 Julai lepas, kini dilaporkan mula sedarkan diri.
Sah suspek anggota polis
Ketua Polis Selangor, Datuk Hussein Omar Khan mengesahkan suspek bunuh Nur Farah Kartini, ialah anggota polis.
Suspek juga yang dipercayai teman lelaki mangsa dan bertugas di Perak.
Suspek juga yang dipercayai teman lelaki mangsa dan bertugas di Perak.
Suspek dibawa ke lokasi kejadian di ladang kelapa sawit
Suspek kes pembunuhan bekas penuntut UPSI Nur Farah Kartini Abdullah dibawa ke lokasi kejadian di ladang kelapa sawit di Kampung Sri Keledang, Hulu Bernam, Selangor.
![Ringgit susut berbanding dolar US pada penutup Ringgit susut berbanding dolar US pada penutup](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-04/41713876066_TBringgitmalaysia.jpg)
Ringgit susut berbanding dolar US pada penutup
Pada 6 petang, ringgit susut lagi kepada 4.6745/6790 berbanding dolar AS daripada 4.6725/6745 semasa ditutup semalam.
Pangkat atau jawatan tidak penting
Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) tidak akan melindungi anggotanya yang ditahan bagi membantu siasatan berhubung kes bunuh bekas penuntut Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Nur Farah Kartini Abdullah.
Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri Razarudin Husain berkata, PDRM akan menjalankan siasatan berkaitan kes itu dengan telus dan adil.
Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri Razarudin Husain berkata, PDRM akan menjalankan siasatan berkaitan kes itu dengan telus dan adil.
Pemilik sebuah rumah kebajikan didenda RM100
Individu didakwa di dua mahkamah Kuala Lumpur berkait kematian seorang pempengaruh TikTok dikenali Rajeswary atau Esha yang ditemukan meninggal dunia dipercayai menjadi mangsa buli siber, 5 Julai lalu.
TERKINI] Timbalan Ketua Polis Perak dilantik Ketua Polis Perak baharu
Timbalan Ketua Polis Perak, Datuk Azizi Mat Aris dilantik sebagai Ketua Polis Perak yang baharu bermula hari ini.
Azizi, 59 tahun, menggantikan Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri yang dilantik sebagai Pengarah Jabatan Siasatan dan Penguatkuasaan Trafik (JSPT) Bukit Aman berkuat kuasa pada Isnin.
Azizi, 59 tahun, menggantikan Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri yang dilantik sebagai Pengarah Jabatan Siasatan dan Penguatkuasaan Trafik (JSPT) Bukit Aman berkuat kuasa pada Isnin.
![Bursa Malaysia ditutup rendah susulan aktiviti pengambilan untung Bursa Malaysia ditutup rendah susulan aktiviti pengambilan untung](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-04/61714480297_tbbursamalaysialog.jpg)
Bursa Malaysia ditutup rendah susulan aktiviti pengambilan untung
Pada 5 petang, Indeks FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) susut 3.86 mata atau 0.24 peratus kepada 1,625.96 daripada paras penutup 1,629.82. pada Isnin.
![[TERKINI] Astro penyiar rasmi Sukan Olimpik Paris 2024 [TERKINI] Astro penyiar rasmi Sukan Olimpik Paris 2024](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-08/51692062485_TBAstro.jpg)
[TERKINI] Astro penyiar rasmi Sukan Olimpik Paris 2024
Astro dipilih sebagai penyiar rasmi bagi Sukan Olimpik Paris 2024 bermula hujung bulan ini.
AWANI Borneo [16/07/2024] – SUKMA 2024 | Sentiasa berwaspada | Pintu sempadan
AWANI Borneo Selasa, 16 Julai 2024 bersama Fauzi Zin.
- SUKMA 2024 : Nasib acara takraw wanita diketahui Khamis ini.
- Ribut petir diramal di Sabah, Bomba saran penduduk berhati-hati.
- Urusan imigresen di sempadan, Malaysia-Brunei adakan rundingan.
- SUKMA 2024 : Nasib acara takraw wanita diketahui Khamis ini.
- Ribut petir diramal di Sabah, Bomba saran penduduk berhati-hati.
- Urusan imigresen di sempadan, Malaysia-Brunei adakan rundingan.