Updated at 11:55 p.m. EDT, July 28, 2008
Four female suicide bombers
staged attacks in two different cities today, killing and wounding hundreds of
Iraqis. One attack targeted religious pilgrims, while the other focused on political
demonstrators. Overall, at least 87 Iraqis were killed and 288 more were wounded
across the country. No Coalition deaths were reported.
In Baghdad,
three female suicide bombers
blew themselves up among Shi'ite pilgrims in the Karrada neighborhood.
At least 32 were killed and
102 were wounded in the attack. The casualties were mostly women and children
heading to the Imam Kadhim shrine in the northern Baghdad of Kadhimiya.
Security forces feared the use of women in suicide attacks, but Islamic custom
forbids the touching of women by unrelated men, so 200 women were searching
an expected million pilgrims for potential bombers. The bombings occurred separately
but within minutes of each other. One attacker apparently left
her bomb behind at a tent. Also, 50 suspects were arrested
and 20 bombs were defused. Meanwhile, four bank robbers were captured.
Another female suicide bomber
attacked a political rally in Kirkuk. The explosion and subsequent police
gunfire caused a stampede.
Then, angry Kurds attacked
Turkman political party offices, blaming the minority group for the bombing. The
attack and ensuing chaos left
38 dead and another 178 wounded.
Demonstrators were protesting a provincial
election law that passed
in parliament last week, but was then rejected
by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who is a Kurd. At issue, is a power
sharing scheme for the oil-rich and ethnically diverse province. The law would
not only spell out how power will be shared but also permit provincial elections
to take place in October. Arabs, Turkmen, and Christians live there along with
a majority Kurdish population who would like the province to politically join
the Kurdish Autonomous Region.
In Mosul, violent security operations
left four Iraqi soldiers and
four suspects dead; 58 suspects were detained. As many as six
Iraqi soldiers were wounded alongside a Coalition soldier. A female
government official was shot dead in eastern Mosul, while a civilian
was killed in a central neighborhood. A female
body was discovered. Also, two
policemen were wounded in an attack in northern Mosul.
An Awakening
Council member was killed during a clash in Latifiyah.
A female
body bearing gunshots and handcuffs was found in a river near Mussayab.
A
bomb in Balad Ruz killed
four people.
Five people were arrested
in Amara.
In Muqdadiya, the deputy governor of Diyala province
was detained
then released.
In Samarra, eight suspects were detained.
Two
suspects were arrested
in Diwaniyah.
Five suspects were captured
in Basra.
Thirty al-Qaeda suspects were detained
across northern and central Iraq.
Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) spokesmen
denied their involvement
in yesterday's bombing in Istanbul and attributed the attack to hardline
Turkish nationalists. No one has claimed responsibility but Turkish officials
suspect PKK rebels, who are fighting for self-rule in eastern Turkey.
Compiled
by Margaret Griffis