The attack at the end of Arbain, one of the main holy days of the Shia calendar, occurred at a time when a political crisis in Iraq’s Shia-led government has renewed fears of a return to sectarian violence in the country.
“A terrorist wearing a police uniform and carrying fake police I.D. managed to reach a police checkpoint and blew himself up among police and pilgrims,” said a police official at the scene of the bombing.
At least 15 were killed, including 11 policemen, and another 40 people were wounded when the bomber detonated his explosives among pilgrims trying to pass through the checkpoint on their way to a major Shia mosque to the west of Basra.
Arbain has been a frequent target of militants since the US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.
Scores of people have been killed in attacks on pilgrims in the last few weeks, including a suicide bombing which killed at least 44 people.
Many of the attacks on pilgrims have used methods such as suicide bombings that are the signature of Iraq’s al Qaeda affiliate.
Attacks targeting Shias have also killed dozens of people since Shia Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s government issued an arrest warrant for a Sunni vice president, triggering a political crisis that risks scuttling a power-sharing agreement.
Attacks had ebbed since the height of sectarian slaughter in 2006-2007 when thousands were killed in intercommunal violence among Shia and Sunni. But the withdrawal of the last American troops in December has fanned worries of a spike in violence.
SOURCE : DAWN
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