Female suicide bomber detonates explosives belt among Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad, killing 54

Female suicide bomber hits Iraq pilgrims, kills 54

BAGHDAD — A female suicide bomber mingling among Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad detonated an explosives belt Monday, killing at least 54 people, officials said.

The bombing was the first major strike this year against pilgrims making their way to the southern city of Karbala to mark a Shiite holy day. It came as a security official warned of a possible increase in attacks by insurgents using new tactics to bypass bomb-detection methods.

The bombing raises fears of an escalation of attacks as hundreds of thousands of Shiites head to Karbala to mark on Friday the end of 40 days of mourning following the anniversary of the death Imam Hussein, a revered Shiite figure.

The bomber hid the explosives underneath an abaya — a black cloak worn from head to toe by women — as she joined a group of pilgrims on the outskirts of Baghdad’s Shiite-dominated neighborhood of Shaab, said Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, Baghdad’s top military spokesman.

The bomber set off the blast as she lined up with other women to be searched by female security guards at a security checkpoint just inside a rest tent, al-Moussawi said.

A police official said 54 people, including 18 women and 12 children, were killed and 117 were wounded. A hospital official confirmed the casualties. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene in the minutes after the blast.

Raheem Kadhom, 35, said he was standing nearby when a huge fireball erupted among the pilgrims.

Pilgrims were “on the ground, covered in blood and crying for help,” he said. “Banners were all over the ground and covered in blood.”

The blast was so powerful it knocked some out of their slippers and shoes, which were scattered across the ground, he said, adding how people put the wounded in cars, taking them to hospitals rather than wait for ambulances.

Despite an overall decline in violence in Iraq, al-Qaida and other Sunni extremists have routinely targeted pilgrims in an attempt to stoke sectarian strife and weaken the Shiite-dominated government.

The vast numbers of pilgrims and the distances many of them must travel at predictable times of the year make it all but impossible to guarantee their safety against extremist groups. The pilgrims targeted Monday were walking from the northeast Diyala province and other areas north of Baghdad, police said.

During a pilgrimage in February of last year, a female suicide bomber attacked a tent filled with women and children resting during the walk to Karbala, killing 40 people and wounding 60 others. A month before that, a suicide bomber dressed in women’s clothing and hiding among Iranian pilgrims killed more than three dozen people outside a mosque in Baghdad’s Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah.

Security forces were put on alert shortly after Monday’s attack, al-Moussawi said.

“We informed all checkpoints to be careful and to intensify the search procedures,” he said.

Iraqi authorities lack enough policewomen to conduct searches of female travelers at most checkpoints, and security forces have been reluctant to use bomb-sniffing dogs against people because of cultural sensitivities.

Al-Moussawi warned insurgent groups were using new tactics to smuggle explosives past security forces.

“Terrorist groups have come up with ways to hide explosive substances that cannot be detected with bomb detector sets,” he said in a statement posted on his Web site.

Iraq’s forces have been using a bomb-detection device at checkpoints across the country that Britain banned for export after questions were raised about whether it works. Iraqi security officials have insisted it works, though they began their own investigation after the U.S. military also said the device did not work.

Meanwhile, Baghdad’s military command has referred 134 members of Iraq’s security forces for investigation. They are suspected of negligence for the security lapses that allowed last week’s suicide bombings at three hotels and Baghdad’s main crime lab, al-Moussawi said.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s election planning has been mired in controversy over the banning of candidates for suspected ties to Baath Party, with some Sunnis claiming the blacklist is an attempt by the Shiite-led government to undermine their candidates.

U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill told The Associated Press Monday that the elections need to be widely accepted as fair otherwise protests by the losers will bog down the new government.

Hill believes that a fierce controversy over a ballot purge of candidates who are suspected Saddam Hussein loyalists will likely be resolved before the vote.

An estimated 450 candidates have been barred from the ballot for suspected links to Saddam’s now outlawed Baath Party.

Hill said he believes Iraq’s government will open its vetting process to show voters why certain candidates were disqualified from running.

Associated Press Writers Chelsea J. Carter, Lara Jakes and Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed to this report.