Car bombings target Sunnis, Shiites in Iraq

[sabra]

Source: CNN

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Attacks in Iraq targeted members of the country’s Sunni and Shia Muslim sects Monday, including a car bombing that killed five Shiite pilgrims outside Baghdad, Iraqi officials said.

The attack on the pilgrims, which wounded 20 others, happened in Iskandariya, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Baghdad.

The pilgrims were heading to Karbala to take part in the Shaabaniya religious festival, which celebrates the birth of Imam Mohammed al-Mehdi, the 12th Shiite imam, who disappeared in the ninth century. Shiites call him the “hidden imam” and believe he will return to restore peace and harmony.

The annual Shiite pilgrimage has been attacked by insurgents in past years.

Earlier in the day, a car bomb struck a busy street in a Sunni area outside the Iraqi city of Falluja, killing at least two people and wounding two others, a police official said.

Read more: http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/08/03/car-bombings-target-sunnis-shiites-in-iraq/