In Iraq, seven die in car bombing

Sunni religious extremists are suspected in the blast.

BAGHDAD (AP) — A car bomb exploded Saturday near Baghdad’s most important Shiite shrine, killing seven people and wounding dozens as authorities imposed new security restrictions to prevent attacks on Shiite pilgrims ahead of major religious ceremonies south of the capital.

The blast occurred around noon in busy Oruba Square, a major commercial area in the Kazimiyah district of Baghdad about 500 yards from the twin-domed shrine of Imam Musa Kadhim, an 8th century Shiite religious leader who is buried there.

An official at the neighborhood hospital said seven people were killed and 30 wounded, including two children. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not supposed to release the information.

No group claimed responsibility, but suspicion fell on Sunni religious extremists who consider Shiites as heretics and collaborators with the Americans. Shiites dominate the U.S.-backed Iraqi government.

The blast gouged a small hole in the street, shattered windows in nearby shops and restaurants and set three cars ablaze.

“It was a big explosion,” said shop owner Hussein Abdul-Rahman, who suffered minor shrapnel wounds. “I rushed to the scene and saw some dead and injured. Then I felt blood oozing from my back. Then rescuers took me to the hospital for treatment.”

Many were indoors

Despite the force of the blast, casualties were relatively low because many people were indoors during the broiling noontime heat or had left for the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles to the south, to attend ceremonies marking the birth of Mohammed al-Mahdi, the 12th and last Shiite imam who disappeared in the 9th century.

Religious Shiites refer to al-Mahdi as the “Hidden Imam,” believing he was spared death and will return to Earth to bring peace and justice.

More than one million pilgrims from throughout the Shiite world are expected to converge on Karbala for the celebrations, which reach their high point late Tuesday and early Wednesday.

In the past, Sunni religious extremists, including al-Qaida in Iraq, have launched massive and deadly attacks against pilgrims during Shiite celebrations, which have drawn huge crowds since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-dominated regime.

Last March, about 340 people were killed in a weeklong wave of bombings and shootings. Most of the dead were Shiite pilgrims en route to religious ceremonies in Karbala.

To prevent a repeat, Iraqi authorities Saturday banned motorcycles, bicycles and horse-drawn carriages from the streets of Baghdad indefinitely. Earlier in the day, state television announced that the ban applied to all vehicles, including cars and trucks. Later, the chief military spokesman for Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Mousawi, said cars and trucks would be allowed but other forms of transport that could slip into smaller places were banned until further notice.