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Bomb attack targets Shiite celebration

A suicide bomber struck Shiites as worshippers prepared on Thursday for their most important holiday, Ashoura, killing 11 at a mosque in violent Diyala Province northeast of Baghdad -- one day after a similar attack by a woman in a nearby village.

Police and eyewitnesses said one of the victims had intercepted the bomber when he saw him making his way through the crowd to the mosque. Shouting "stranger, stranger," he grabbed the bomber, who instantly blew himself up.

The surge in bomb attacks in recent weeks is beginning to slowly chip away at the significance of security gains made over the past six months, when levels of violence dropped considerably nationwide. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government has cited this as its biggest achievement after nearly two years in office.

The latest bombing came as authorities stepped up security across much of Iraq to try to prevent more Sunni insurgent attacks against Shiites. In Baghdad, a 48-hour ban on heavy vehicles went into effect at dusk, and Iraqi army troops and police were out on the streets in greater numbers.

Soldiers at the hundreds of checkpoints across the city were conducting particularly thorough searches, with many vehicles ordered to pull over for inspection and identification checks. The heaviest security operation, however, was in the holy city of Karbala south of Baghdad where some 30,000 troops were deployed to ensure the safety of hundreds of thousands performing Ashoura rites.

Sunni Arab militants have repeatedly targeted Ashoura processions, with hundreds killed by mortar shelling or car bombings since 2003.

Ashoura commemorates the death in a seventh century battle of Imam Hussein, one of Shiite Islam's most revered saints. His tomb is in Karbala, about 100km from Baghdad.

Ashoura is essentially a mournful occasion, but Iraq's majority Shiites have used it since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein's Sunni-led regime to put on a show of force underlining their new status as the country's dominant group after decades of oppression. Hundreds of thousands march to Karbala or organize processions in their hometowns.

Militant Sunnis look upon Ashoura with contempt. They believe some of its rituals, like self flagellation and the use of images, amounts to pagan worship and violates Islamic teachings.

Thursday's bombing took place in the Shiite neighborhood of Shafta on the southern outskirts of Baquba, Diyala's provincial capital 60km from Baghdad.

The bomber detonated his explosives among crowds of Shiites at the door of the mosque, targeting men beating their chests just outside, a police official said, on condition of anonymity.

The attack killed 11 people and wounded 15, according to hospital officials.

"Such a painful event will not deter us from continuing Ashoura ceremonies," said a witness, who referred to himself only as Abu Salam. "We do not want further Shiite-Sunni strife in our area."

It was the second deadly suicide attack against Ashoura crowds in as many days in Diyala, now one of Iraq's most violent provinces, where US and Iraqi troops are fighting to dislodge al-Qaeda in Iraq militants.

Wednesday's bombing, in a Shiite village 14km south of Baquba, was carried out by a female suicide bomber who struck black-clad worshippers preparing for Ashoura. Nine people were killed.

Ashoura observances have been going on for about a week and were scheduled to climax last night through midday today.
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