Explosions killed at least 27 people across Iraq Thursday, most of them Shiite pilgrims taking part in a mourning ceremony, authorities said, raising fears of further sectarian attacks. While Thursday's attacks were smaller than similar bombings in previous years, they demonstrate that insurgents continue to incite sectarian tensions. First came news of twin explosions targeting Shiite pilgrims in a central Iraqi town. The bombs killed at least 13 people and injured 74 others, authorities said. Police Maj. Muthana Khalid said the first bomb exploded around 2 P.M. Thursday in Hillah, the capital of Babil province, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) south of Baghdad. He said that the second explosion there came as police rushed to the scene 15 minutes later, a common tactic used by insurgents to maximize casualties. “As people gathered here a powerful blast took place. A bomb exploded there and a car bomb exploded here,” said eyewitness Ali Hussein. The bombs targeted Shiite pilgrims who had gathered near a bus station in downtown Hillah, which is about 25 miles southeast of Karbala. People from around southern Iraq, which is overwhelmingly Shiite, make up the bulk of pilgrims traveling to Karbala. A wrecked car lay at the attack site, and a pair of blood-covered slippers could be seen near damaged storefronts. Among the dead was provincial councilman Nima Jassim Al-Bakri, who was also a doctor, several authorities and a colleague said. Khalid, the police spokesman, and Hillah councilman Iskandar Witwit said Al-Bakri was driving to the attack site but was shot by a guard after he failed to stop at a checkpoint and the guard thought he was an attacker, Khalid and Witwit said. At the second incident, in Baghdad, a bomb targeting a funeral killed nine and wounded 33 in Sadr City, a predominantly Shiite neighborhood, police and hospital officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media. The attack on the funeral procession raised questions about whether whoever planted the bomb thought they were targeting an Ashoura procession. Then in a southern Baghdad neighborhood, a bomb killed four Shiite pilgrims and wounded 10 others on their way to Karbala, police and hospital officials said. “The government is very aware of the threats to Christians and the Muslims” observing Ashoura, said US Army Maj. Gen. John Johnson, a deputy commander in Iraq. Violence in Iraq has dramatically declined since the insurgency pushed the country to the brink of civil war two years ago, but insurgents still regularly target security forces and civilians. “There is an investigation under way with those careless security men who did not perform well in search and checking,” Hillah police chief Maj. Gen. Fadhil Radad told Iraq's state-run TV station.
