Note AP’s headline: “Suicide bombs kill at least 33 in Iraq’s Baghdad, Karbala” — as if the suicide bombs decided to go out and kill people. The lack of an agent is a hallmark of the mainstream media coverage of any and every jihad attack. In the body of the article this unwillingness to identify jihadists as what they are becomes particularly ludicrous, as the ones attacking the Shi’ite mosque are identified as “militants.” They’re linked to the Islamic State at the end of the piece, but before that the reader is just supposed to know what kind of “militants” would target a Shi’ite mosque. The Symbionese Liberation Army? PETA? Greenpeace? It’s a mystery!
“Suicide bombs kill at least 33 in Iraq’s Baghdad, Karbala,” AP, October 20, 2014:
BAGHDAD — Militants unleashed attacks on Iraq’s majority Shiite community on Monday, killing at least 33 people, the latest in relentless assaults that have challenged the Shiite-led government as it battles the Sunni-led insurgency by the ISIS group.
A suicide bomber hit a mosque in Baghdad as Shiite worshipers left after noon prayers, killing 17 people, while a triple car bombing in the holy city of Karbala killed 16….
In Baghdad, the bomber blew himself up among Shiite worshipers as they were leaving a mosque in a commercial area in the city center after midday prayers Monday, killing at least 17 people and wounding 28, a police officer said.
In Karbala, three separate car bombs went off simultaneously, killing at least 16 people and wounding 41, another police officer said. The city, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Baghdad, is home to the tombs of two most revered Shiite imams and the site of year-round pilgrimages. The explosives-laden cars were parked in commercial areas and parking lots near government offices, the officer added.
Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to media.
The attacks in Baghdad and Karbala came a day after a suicide bombing targeted another Shiite mosque in the Iraqi capital, in the western Harithiya neighborhood, killing 28 people.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the latest attacks but they bore the hallmarks of the al-Qaida-breakaway ISIS group, which has recently claimed several other large bombings in Baghdad and elsewhere, particularly in Shiite areas.