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Following Sunday's deadly battle, Najaf Governor Asaad Abu Khalil originally implied that the fighters were foreign Arabs of the sort usually associated with Al Qaeda and that their intention was to disrupt the religious festival of Ashura with plans to attack both pilgrims and senior ayatollahs in southern Iraqi city of Najaf, the principal seat of Shiite religious learning in Iraq ... Ashura commemorates Imam Hussein, grandson of the prophet Muhammad and the most revered of Shiite saints, and... (Christian Science Monitor)
Attacks target Shiite pilgrims Jan 30, 2007
A string of attacks on Shiite pilgrims on the final day of Ashura killed at least 38 people today in Iraq. During Ashura, Shiites mark the seventh-century martyrdom of the Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson. (SportsIllustrated.CNN -- Golf)
Najaf 'back under control' Jan 30, 2007
The Iraqi government yesterday declared an end to major combat operations near Najaf, where US and Iraqi forces had fought hundreds of fighters from an obscure Islamic splinter group suspected of planning attacks on the Shia clerical establishment during today's Ashura celebrations in nearby Kerbala ... Muhammad al Askari, the defence ministry spokesman, said: "The victorious Iraqi forces, with US help, have smashed the group of terrorists who were planning to disrupt the holy day of Ashura." He... (Guardian Unlimited -- World)
US threatens firm response to Iranian meddling in Iraq Jan 30, 2007
The latest episode of violence in Iraq, however, appeared little connected to Iran, as the Iraqi government concluded major combat operations to subdue an obscure Islamic splinter group suspected of planning attacks on the Shia clerical establishment during today's Ashura celebrations in nearby Kerbala. Defence ministry officials said 200 militants, including the cult's leader, had been killed in the fighting and 60 were wounded. (Guardian Unlimited -- World)
Africa benefits from tourists' terrorism fears Jan 30, 2007
The Iraqi government yesterday declared an end to major combat operations near Najaf, where US and Iraqi forces had fought hundreds of fighters from an obscure Islamic splinter group suspected of planning attacks on the Shia clerical establishment during today's Ashura celebrations in nearby Kerbala. Readers tips. (Guardian Unlimited -- World)
1st Kuwaiti woman MP sworn in Jan 30, 2007
A bomb planted in a garbage can exploded Tuesday, killing at least 13 people as Shias continued observing the Ashura holy holiday near the Iranian border, police said ... A bomb planted in a garbage can exploded Tuesday, killing at least 13 people as Shias continued observing the Ashura holy holiday near the Iranian border, police said. (Yahoo News -- Kuwait)
Iraqi forces kill 250 militants in Najaf Jan 29, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007. Indo-Asain News Service. (Hindustan Times, India)
ISRAEL'S PARLIAMENT TO APPOINT FIRST MUSLIM MINISTER... Jan 29, 2007
Iraqi forces were on alert Sunday in the city of Karbala as hundreds of thousands of Shia worshippers gathered for the annual Ashura reglious festival ... Iraqi forces were on alert Sunday in the city of Karbala as hundreds of thousands of Shia worshippers gathered for the annual Ashura reglious festival. (The Drudge Report)
Iraqi, U.S. forces kill several hundred fighters Jan 29, 2007
The fighting, on the eve of the Shiite Muslim holiday of Ashura, came as a mortar attack killed five teenage girls at a school in Baghdad and the daily civilian death toll again nationwide climbed past 100. Iraqi security officials offered conflicting accounts of the identity and motives of the heavily armed fighters in Najaf, variously describing them as foreign fighters, Sunni Arab nationalists, loyalists of executed former dictator Saddam Hussein, or followers of a messianic Shiite death... (Montana Standard, MT)
250 are killed in major Iraq battle Jan 29, 2007
He said they had come to assassinate Shiite clerics and attack religious convoys that were gathering in Najaf, one of Shiite Islam's holiest cities, and other southern cities for Ashura, a Shiite holiday that starts Monday night and runs through Tuesday morning ... At a news conference on Sunday afternoon, he said they called themselves "soldiers of heaven," and seemed to be part of a wider effort to disrupt Ashura ... Elsewhere in the heavily Shiite south, there were other signs of potential... (International Herald Tribune)
UPI NewsTrack TopNews Jan 29, 2007
Iraqi officials told CNN the insurgents were part of a force of as many as 600 militants who planned a massive siege Tuesday, the culmination of the Shiite holy period of Ashura. Part of the agenda was to assassinate Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most revered Shiite leader, officials said. (Washington Times, DC)
On holiday eve, carnage in Iraq Jan 29, 2007
The fighting, on the eve of the Shia Muslim holiday of Ashura, came as a mortar attack killed five teenage girls and wounded 21 at a school in Baghdad, and the daily civilian death toll nationwide climbed to at least 113. The bodies of at least 54 people were found in various Baghdad neighborhoods, officials said. (Newsday -- World)
Birdcage bomb kills 15 Jan 27, 2007
Many predict an upsurge in violence ahead of the Shia religious mourning festival of Ashura, which culminates on Monday. Hundreds of thousands of Shia pilgrims will converge on the holy city of Karbala from around the country, to mark the slaying of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein, presenting an easy target that Sunni insurgents have used to wreak carnage in recent years. (TimesOnline)
Week in picturesA look back at pictures in the news over the last week Jan 27, 2007
An Iraqi man flagellates himself during the celebration of Ashura, in Karbala, Iraq. Pressure on British Home Secretary John Reid grew after the head of the Youth Justice Board of England and Wales quit over policy on young offenders. (BBC News)
Bomb kills 15 in new attack on Baghdad pet fair Jan 26, 2007
After a surge in bombings over the past few days, security forces are on high alert as Shi'ites prepare to mark the climax of the 10-day mourning rite of Ashura on Monday. Many hundreds of thousands of pilgrims are expected to converge on the holy city of Kerbala, south of Baghdad, for ceremonies banned during Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated, secular rule and now an annual highpoint for majority Shi'ites now in the political ascendant in Iraq for the first time. (AlertNet)
Beirut cafeteria clash sets off deadly violence Jan 26, 2007
"The opposition has the political, popular and organizational strength to bring down the unconstitutional government today or tomorrow," Nasrallah told worshipers commemorating the Shiite holiday of Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs. "What has so far prevented the fall of the government that is clinging to power is not international support but the patriotic feelings of the opposition and its desire to preserve civil peace.". (International Herald Tribune)
Hezbollah won't topple Lebanese government, its leader says Jan 25, 2007
"The opposition has the political, popular and organizational strength to bring down the unconstitutional government today or tomorrow," Sheik Nasrallah told worshipers commemorating the Shiite holiday of Ashura in Beirut's southern suburbs. "What has so far prevented the fall of the government that is clinging to power is not international support but the patriotic feelings of the opposition and its desire to preserve civil peace.". (International Herald Tribune)
Zawahiri challenges Bush to send the 'entire army' to Iraq Jan 25, 2007
Earlier, as the sound of gunfire and bombs echoed across the city during the Shia religious holiday of Ashura, American soldiers began leaving the security of their bunkers to set up new bases in some of the most violent areas of the city. The first to reach Baghdad comprised 3,200 troops of the 82nd Airborne, all part of President Bush's "surge" of troops with which he hopes to pacify the city. (Yahoo News -- Osama bin Laden & al-Qaida)
Car bombs kill at least 79 in Iraq Jan 23, 2007
The attack came as Shi'ites celebrate Ashura, the 10-day religious holiday commemorating the death of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson in the seventh century. The bombs exploded within seconds of each other around noon, a peak shopping time, and sent a dark mushroom of smoke high into the blue sky over Baghdad. (Boston Globe)
25 U.S. troops die in one day Jan 23, 2007 US suffers heavy losses in Iraq Jan 21, 2007 Helicopter Crash, Attacks Kill 21 U.S. Troops In Iraq Jan 21, 2007 Deadliest day in 2 years for US troops in Iraq Jan 21, 2007 U.S. helicopter goes down in Iraq, killing 12 Jan 21, 2007 13 soldiers killed in Blackhawk chopper crash Jan 21, 2007 Muharram starts New Year Jan 19, 2007 Saudi Arabia wary of its Shiites Jan 18, 2007 Islam's Sunni-Shiite split Jan 17, 2007 Uganda opposition rally blocked Jan 7, 2007
During Muharram, pilgrims take part in the rites of Ashura commemorating the martyrdom of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed. The 25 deaths on Saturday -- and two others on Friday -- bring the total for U.S. military deaths in January to 51 and the number since the Iraq war began to 3,055, including seven civilian contractors of the Defense Department. (CNN -- World)
At least 27 U.S. troops killed in Iraq over weekend Jan 22, 2007
The Karbala clash erupted as U.S. and Iraqi officials planned security for the Ashura festival, an annual Shiite pilgrimage. Karbala has come under the sway of Shiite militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada Sadr, but it also is adjacent to Sunni areas. (Los Angeles Times)
It happened as thousands of pilgrims gathered in Karbala for the Shia mourning ceremony of Ashura, due to begin on Sunday. Claim. (BBC News)
Then it crashed with an explosion and the smoke started (Tampa Bay Online, FL -- News)
The Karbala firefight erupted as U.S. and Iraqi officials planned security for the Ashura festival, an annual Shiite pilgrimage that begins today. Karbala has come under the sway of Shiite militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, but it also is adjacent to Sunni Arab areas. (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, deputy commander for Multi-National Division-Baghdad, said American and Iraqi security forces were meeting at the time of the attack to ensure that Shiite pilgrims would be safe during the celebrations later this month for Ashura, one of Shiite Islam's holiest days, which marks the seventh-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussein. Iraqi state television reported that at least two dozen gunmen assaulted the building, getting inside, and drawing a... (International Herald Tribune)
The Kerbala clash occurred as thousands of pilgrims thronged through the city, 110 km south of Baghdad, at the start of the 10-day rite of Ashura, a highpoint of the Shi'ite Muslim calendar. "The Provincial Joint Coordination Center (PJCC) in Kerbala was attacked with grenades, small arms and indirect fires by an illegally armed militia group," the US military said in a statement, apparently blaming Shi'ite militiamen rather than Sunni insurgents whom it usually calls terrorists. (Daily Telegraph)
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ASHURA: Saudi Shiite Muslims last year reenacted the battle of Karbala in which Imam Hussein, grandson of the prophet Muhammad, was killed in 680 A.D. ... In Al Qatif, Shiites have been allowed to celebrate Ashura, the commemoration of Imam Hussein, whom they see as the third Imam and intended successor of the prophet Muhammad; Sunnis consider this view blasphemous. (Christian Science Monitor)
A look at the historic divide within the Muslim world. To the outsider, the differences between the Sunni and Shiite Islamic sects are hard to recognize. (Christian Science Monitor)
----------------- RELATED BBC SITES. Last Updated: Saturday, 6 January 2007, 17:58 GMT. (BBC News -- Africa)
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