 |  |  |
| PremiumReports   TOPICS
LINKS
 | IraqSide:Developments
The Latest Official: Karbala Blast was IED, Not Suicide
Others Attribute Blast to Female Suicide Bomber; Death Toll at Least 40
Google Earth image/IraqSlogger.com.
Composite sattelite image shows central Karbala, noting the Shrine of Imam Husayn and the Mukhayam district, site of Monday's deadly bombing.
Karbala's director of police said Monday evening that the explosion that killed at least 40 individuals in the southern shrine city was due to an IED, and not a suicide bomber as earlier reported. Aswat al-Iraq writes in Arabic that Gen. Ra'id Shakir Jawdat said in a press conference on Monday that the evening's deadly explosion was caused by an explosive device "made locally inside the city" rather than by a female suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt as had earlier been reported. Six suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack, Gen. Jawdat added. "Explosives experts confirmed that the device was locally produced, and was fabricated inside the city center," he added. Those who designed and manufactured the device know that the security measures are intensive," and that explosives detection procedures "forbid them from bringing (explosive devices) into the city center, so they made (the devices) inside the city.
Gen. Jawdat explained that the six suspects were still under interrogation, without revealing any further details. The deadly blast exploded in the Mukhayam area, located 300 meters from the tomb of Imam Husayn in central Karbala, one of the most holy sites in Shi'a Islam. Incomplete death tolls in various media reports put the tally at forty or above. In a separate report in Arabic, Aswat al-Iraq cites Karbala medical authorities who say that at least 40 civilians died in the blast along with 71 injured. Seven of those killed were Iranian pilgrims, AP writes, citing local health authorities. AP notes the discrepancy between the general's account, writing that an eyewitness told it that a female suicide bomber was responsible for the attack. In a joint statement condemning the blast, the MNF and US embassy said that the attack "bears all the markings of having been carried out by al-Qaeda in Iraq," without specifying the nature of the bombing. |  SloggerHeadlines    |  IraqTicker › › › › › › › › › › MNF-Iraq › › › › › NYTBaghdadBlog › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › McClatchyBaghdad › › › › › › › › › › IraqBusiness › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › › ›  |
No comments:
Post a Comment