Shia pilgrims pour into Kerbala amid more killings

IRAQ: More than a million Shia Muslim pilgrims poured into Iraq's holy city of Kerbala yesterday, defying insurgents who killed…

IRAQ:More than a million Shia Muslim pilgrims poured into Iraq's holy city of Kerbala yesterday, defying insurgents who killed about 190 people in two days of attacks blamed by the government on Sunni militants.

A suicide bomber killed at least 26 people in a cafe north of Baghdad in religiously mixed Diyala province, which has seen frequent sectarian violence between Shias and Sunnis.

The bomber detonated his explosive belt in a crowded cafe in Balad Ruz, wounding 25, Balad Ruz police chief Faris al-Umayri said. Another police source put the death toll at 30.

At least 22 more Shia pilgrims were killed yesterday, a day after some 140 pilgrims died in suicide bombings and shootings likely to further fuel the sectarian tension that is already threatening to pitch Iraq into all-out civil war.

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A car bomb in Saidiya in southern Baghdad killed eight people, a police source said. Another seven pilgrims were killed by a roadside bomb and gunmen in southern Baghdad, police sources said. Six more were killed by mortars south of Baghdad.

"These acts will not stop us," said Jabar Ali, who walked for eight days from the southern city of Basra to Kerbala for Shia mourning ceremonies.

Shia prime minister Nuri al-Maliki launched a US-backed security crackdown last month that has had some success in reducing death squad killings blamed on Shia militias.

But there has been no let-up in bombings, many of which target Shia communities who say they need the militias to protect them from Sunni Arab insurgents.

Mr Maliki, who blamed Tuesday's attacks on Sunni Arab insurgents, has called a meeting with Iraq's neighbours and world powers to enlist their support in stopping the violence. Iran said it would attend Saturday's meeting, which will be a rare opportunity for Iranian and US officials to sit at the same table. - (Reuters)