Sunni-Shi’ite Jihad Update, and more Eid violence. “Attacks aimed at Iraqi Shiite pilgrims kill at least 24,” from CNN:
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Insurgents in Iraq targeted Shiite Muslims on Sunday — the second day of the Eid al-Fitr festival — in separate attacks that left at least 24 dead, Iraqi officials said.
The deadliest attack happened in Samarra, north of Baghdad, where a car bomb detonated near a mosque in the city’s center. The explosion was followed by clashes between gunmen and Iraqi security forces, according to Samarra police.
At least 18 were killed — 10 civilians and eight security officers — and 37 were wounded in the blast and gunfight in Samarra, police said.
Insurgents on Sunday also bombed a minibus in Baghdad as it carried pilgrims to one of Shiite Islam’s holiest shrines, killing at least six and wounding nine others — including women and children — Iraqi officials said.
It was unclear where the bomb was placed. An Iraqi Interior Ministry official said the device was planted on the bus heading to the Imam Musa al-Kadhim shrine in Baghdad’s Kadhimiya district. But the Ministry of Defense said car bomb parked near the bus was behind the blast.
Sunday is the second day of Eid al-Fitr for Shiites, the feast marking the end of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.
The Baghdad bombing happened near Aden Square, where Iraqi security forces had dismantled another parked car bomb earlier Sunday.
Iraqi police found and defused an explosive device in a van parked near an air base in central Baghdad.
The deadly bombing in Samarra was the second this weekend in the Shiite holy city, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Baghdad in Salaheddin province.
The two attacks happened less than a mile (about a kilometer) apart.