Millions of Shi’ites were in Karbala on Wednesday for Ashura observances. The religious holiday honors the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson Hussein, who was martyred in the 7th century A.D.
Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr decried a Supreme Court decision that favored former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki over current the current premier, Haider al-Abadi. The court ruled again one of Abadi’s planned anti-corruption reforms that eliminated the country’s three vice presidents. Maliki is currently a vice president and also a long-time rival of Sadr. Sadr wants his followers to protest the decision.
At least 53 people were killed and 13 were wounded:
In Mahmoudiya, a bomb killed two people and wounded nine more.
A sticky bomb killed a civilian in Sadr City.
A sniper shot dead a policeman in the Hamrin Hills.
A small arms attack on the Kirkuk home of an anti-drug director left one bodyguard with injuries.
Security forces killed 15 militants between Haditha and Baiji.
In Khorsabad, an airstrike left 12 militants dead.
Ten militants were killed in a strike on Bartala.
Peshmerga fighters in Noran killed at least eight more militants.
An airstrike killed a leading militant and wounded three more in Bashiqa.
Security forces discovered the bodies of two militants after an airstrike near Adhaim.
In Mosul, a militant executed his own father for disrespecting ISIS/Daesh.
