Iraq Car Bomb Kills At Least 15

Posted January 3rd, 2013 at 10:50 am (UTC-5)
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Iraqi authorities say a car bomb has killed at least 15 Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims during a religious procession in the country's south.

Police said Thursday's attack in the town of Musayyib hit the pilgrims as they were returning from Iraq's shrine city of Karbala on Thursday, where they performed mourning rituals for a revered figure in Shi'ite Islam. Dozens were wounded in the bombing.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The blast comes just days after a wave of bombings across the country killed 23 people. Insurgents blew up several houses in the town of Musayyib on Monday, killing seven people. Bombings also killed people in Baghdad, Hillah and Kirkuk.

Minority Sunni militants have targeted majority Shi'ite pilgrims frequently. Those militants also appear to be exploiting sectarian tensions in the ruling coalition of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is under political fire.

Sunni protesters have held more than a week of anti-government protests in the western province of Anbar, demanding an end to what they see as Mr. Maliki's marginalization of their community and its representatives in his Shi'ite-led coalition.