Middle East News
Four killed by bomb at Shiite procession in Iraq (Roundup)
Dec 27, 2009, 14:52 GMT
Baghdad - Four people were killed Sunday morning by a bomb blast targeting a Shiite procession in northern Iraq marking the Ashura day of mourning, police sources said.
The bomb went off in the town of Tuz Khurmatu, some 175 kilometres north of Baghdad. At least 18 people were injured in the blast.
Millions gathered in the southern town of Karbala, a site sacred to Shiites, for the main events to mark Ashura, which commemorates a 7th century battle and the death of Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammed, Islam's prophet.
There were also other, smaller explosions and shooting incidents in other areas of Iraq.
Meanwhile in Kirkuk, a member of the Sahwa (Awakening) movement was killed, and a policeman injured, by unknown gunmen, a security official in the area said.
Awakening Councils, made up of insurgents who switched sides and allied themselves with with their former enemies in the Iraqi government and US forces, have taken over some Sunni cities and helped to bring about a semblance of calm.
Also in Kirkuk, an oil rich and ethnically diverse city some 250 kilometres from Baghdad, another six policemen were injured by a bomb blast.
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