AFP/Karbala, Iraq
A series of attacks in Baghdad and a holy Iraqi city killed 12 people, while five others died in a helicopter crash, as major religious ceremonies came to a close, officials said yesterday.
In the deadliest attack, mortars killed seven people and wounded 46 in the Shia holy city of Karbala, south of Baghdad, as pilgrims gathered late on Tuesday to mark the birthday of the Mahdi, the 12th and last Shia imam.
“Several mortars landed at 11pm, killing seven pilgrims and injuring 46, in a neighbourhood located 4km northwest of the centre of the city,” a Karbala police officer said.
“The pilgrims were coming from around the city to participate in the ceremony,” the officer said, adding several houses were damaged.
Tuesday’s attack came a day after twin car bombings in Karbala killed 21 people and wounded at least 47 others.
Also near Karbala, an Iraqi air force helicopter crashed early yesterday while it was providing surveillance for the ceremonies, killing its five-man crew.
“The five-man crew of the helicopter was killed when it crashed as a result of a sandstorm in Ibrahimiyah, east of Karbala,” General Anwar Hanna Amin said.
Defence ministry spokesman Major General Mohamed al-Askari confirmed the crash, saying the helicopter was a Russian-designed Mi-17. The crash is being investigated, he added.
In Baghdad, meanwhile, a bomb inside a restaurant yesterday morning in the Shia neighbourhood of Sadr City killed five people, including one woman.
Thirteen others were wounded in the blast, which occurred at about 9.30am, officials from the defence and interior ministries said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
US and Iraqi officials have warned of the dangers of an upsurge in violence as negotiations on forming a new governing coalition have dragged on, more than four months after parliamentary elections.