At Least 60 Dead After Double Bombing at Iraqi Prayer Site

by Rob Walker | April 24, 2009 at 05:29 am

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A day after 84 people were killed in suicide attacks in Iraq, a double bombing in Baghdad has left at least 60 people dead and over 125 injured. The suicide attacks happened at the most important Shia shrine in Baghdad as people gathered for early morning prayers on Friday.

The bombers set off their bombs within minutes of each other near gates to the shrine, where pilgrims and locals came to pray. At least 25 of the dead were pilgrims from Iran, said Iraqi police.

It comes a day after 84 people were killed in two separate suicide attacks in Baghdad and Baquba.
Many victims in Baquba and in Baghdad on Friday were Iranian pilgrims and the violence was condemned in Tehran.

Violence fell sharply in the last year and the latest bombing does not change this trend, but it is a worrying development, especially after Thursday's attacks, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad.