Doc Mercer
EOG Master
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ?SITE=FLTAM&...
Mar 7, 10:41 PM EST
Bomber Kills 30; 3 Soldiers Die in Iraq
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A suicide attacker blew himself up in a cafe northeast of the capital Wednesday, killing 30 people as a wave of violence left 90 Iraqis dead throughout the country.
The bloodshed persisted as Iraqi security forces struggled to protect more than 1 million Shiite pilgrims streaming toward the holy city of Karbala for annual religious rituals that begin Friday. The pilgrims are facing a string of attacks along the way that have claimed at least 174 lives in two days - among 284 killed across Iraq since Tuesday.
They included 22 people - 12 police commandos and 10 civilians - who died Wednesday in a car bombing at a checkpoint in southern Baghdad set up to protect pilgrims, the U.S. military said. An Iraqi TV cameraman working for a Shiite-owned station was among the civilian dead, his station said.
Just north of the capital, a powerful bomb killed three American soldiers trying to clear explosives from a major highway, the U.S. military said. One American soldier was wounded in the attack.
Mar 7, 10:41 PM EST
Bomber Kills 30; 3 Soldiers Die in Iraq
By ROBERT H. REID
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A suicide attacker blew himself up in a cafe northeast of the capital Wednesday, killing 30 people as a wave of violence left 90 Iraqis dead throughout the country.
The bloodshed persisted as Iraqi security forces struggled to protect more than 1 million Shiite pilgrims streaming toward the holy city of Karbala for annual religious rituals that begin Friday. The pilgrims are facing a string of attacks along the way that have claimed at least 174 lives in two days - among 284 killed across Iraq since Tuesday.
They included 22 people - 12 police commandos and 10 civilians - who died Wednesday in a car bombing at a checkpoint in southern Baghdad set up to protect pilgrims, the U.S. military said. An Iraqi TV cameraman working for a Shiite-owned station was among the civilian dead, his station said.
Just north of the capital, a powerful bomb killed three American soldiers trying to clear explosives from a major highway, the U.S. military said. One American soldier was wounded in the attack.
