Millions Observe Mostly Peaceful Ashura in Iraq

Thanks to extremely tight security, about 3,000,000 pilgrims peacefully gathered in Karbala today for Ashura observances. Across the county, however, at least six Iraqis were killed and 19 more were wounded, some of them in sectarian attacks. Still, the number of victims dropped significantly from yesterday’s toll.

In Kirkuk, one civilian was killed and eight others were wounded when mortars fell on a Shi’ite mosque. A separate blast wounded one civilian. A college professor was freed after paying an $800,000 ransom.

Gunmen stormed a policeman’s home in Ramadi, where they killed one person and wounded three more.

A policeman was killed and two more were wounded during a bombing in Imam Weis.

A bomb in Saidiya killed an army officer and wounded a soldier.

A civilian was killed in a sticky bomb attack in Falluja.

One policeman was killed and another was wounded in a bombing in Baquba. A bomb planted on a electrical tower wounded two soldiers when it exploded.

A Katyusha rocket fell at a Kurdistan Democratic Party in Tal Afar, where it wounded one guard.

In Mosul, a bomb targeting a patrol wounded one Asayesh agent.

No casualties were reported in a sonic bomb blast in Tisiin.

Officials in Najaf and Diyala declared their security operations a success. Nevertheless, some reports of violence did take place.

Author: Margaret Griffis

Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006.