Suicide bombers kill 28 in Baghdad, 16 in Kirkuk

Mohammed Abbas and Waleed Ibrahim
Reuters
Sunday, July 28, 2008

Three female suicide bombers killed at least 28 people and wounded 92 in Baghdad on Monday as Shi'ite pilgrims flooded into the Iraqi capital for a major religious event, police said.

In the northern oil city of Kirkuk a suicide bomber killed at least 16 people and wounded 112 others at a demonstration against Iraq's provincial elections law, the U.S. military said.

The attacks underscored the fragility of recent security gains in Iraq, where violence has fallen to four-year lows.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Baghdad blasts, but al Qaeda has often targeted Shi'ite pilgrims taking part in religious events in Iraq. It considers Shi'ism -- the majority Muslim denomination in Iraq -- heretical.

"These blasts that happened today will increase our determination to finalize the ceremony of this visit and defeat terrorism," said pilgrim Taher Abd-Noor.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has increasingly urged foreign dignitaries and companies to come to Iraq in recent months, citing a rapidly growing army that has been able to keep the peace with minimal U.S. backup.

The apparently coordinated explosions in Baghdad shattered months of relative calm in the city, and took place despite a heavy security clampdown ahead of the annual Shi'ite pilgrimage to the Kadhamiya shrine in the city's northwest.

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