Attacks target Christians and Shiites in Iraq

BAGHDAD — As Muslims in Iraq observe the 10-day holiday of Muharram, and Christians warily prepare for a subdued Christmas, episodes of violence erupted around the country on Wednesday, some of them aimed at worshippers of both faiths.

There were four separate bomb attacks in Baghdad on Shiite pilgrims marching toward Karbala in observance of Muharram, and a fifth attack on people giving food and drinks to the marchers.

In East Baghdad, an improvised explosive device killed 3 marchers and wounded 28 others. A bomb attached to a motorcycle killed one pilgrim and wounded seven, while seven more marchers were wounded in bombings south of Baghdad. A roadside bomb in the commercial Karada neighborhood exploded near people serving the marchers, killing one and wounding four.

The pilgrimage to Karbala, culminating Sunday in the Day of Ashura, is one of the holiest Shiite observances, commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, in 680 A.D. Saddam Hussein banned the pilgrimage, and it has been a target of attacks since his fall in 2003.

The Iraqi government has promised to boost security for the pilgrims, deploying nearly 50,000 soldiers and police officers to Karbala and Najaf, where a million pilgrims were expected to converge this weekend.

In the northern city of Mosul, where sectarian violence has continued to run high, a bomb placed in a handcart across from the Syrian Orthodox Church of St. Thomas killed two people, both Muslim, and damaged the church, which was built in 770. The attack followed threats to blow up churches at Christmas, and is the sixth attack on Christians in Mosul in less than a month. Threats and attacks against Iraqi Christians typically rise during the Christmas season.

After a relatively peaceful November, in which only 88 Iraqi civilians were killed in attacks, violence has increased this month, punctuated by a series of car bomb attacks on Dec. 8 that killed at least 121 people. The November total was the lowest since the American-led invasion of 2003, according to the Web site icasualties.org.