Violence left nearly 50 people dead in two major southern cities when members of a shadowy, messianic cult attacked police and fellow Shiite worshippers -- a year after a similar plot was foiled during Shiite Islam's most important holiday.
Iraqi authorities said at least 36 people were reported killed in Basra, Iraq's second largest city, and at least 10 in Nasiriyah, where witnesses said US-led coalition jet fighters and helicopter gunships on Friday targeted a police station seized by cult gunmen.
US military spokesman Major Brad Leighton said jet fighters flew over the area in a show of force after the Iraqi's requested help, but no airstrikes occured. Some clashes raged into the night, raising the possibility of more casualties.
PHOTO: AP
The assaults were launched as hundreds of thousands of Shiites observed the Ashoura holiday by marching, singing and beating their chests to honor the martyrdom of their most beloved saint. Followers of the cult -- the Soldiers of Heaven -- seek to speed the return of another Shiite figure known as a "Hidden Imam," who believers say will bring justice to the world.
There were conflicting accounts about how the attacks developed, but all signs pointed to the Soldiers of Heaven cult.
The group's bloody aims are seen as a bid to bring the return of the "Hidden Imam" -- also known as the Mahdi -- a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad who disappeared as a child in the ninth century. Shiites believe he will return one day to bring justice to Earth.
Friday's attack began when militants carrying yellow flags or wearing yellow headbands, the cult's color, fired mortars at a police station in Nasiriyah, about 320km south of Baghdad. A shootout with police followed.
A police officer said at least 10 people were killed -- seven policemen, including two senior officers, two female civilians and one gunman. He also said more than 50 people were injured after gunmen stormed the building of a quick reaction force in the city.
Street battles also broke out in Basra, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, after cultists opened fire on a police patrol. Police torched a mosque belonging to the cult after militants fired at officers from inside, authorities said.
The militant cult members also shot at Shiite worshippers taking part in Ashoura observances, Basra Governor Mohammed al-Waili said. No injuries were reported.
"These terrorist groups have opened fire randomly on citizens and Shiite mourners and we are about to eliminate or arrest them," the governor said.
Basra police chief Major General Abdul-Jalil Khalaf said 30 militants and six security forces were killed. He also said 30 militants were detained.
Khalaf said the leader of the group in Basra, whom he identified as Abu Mustafa al-Ansari, was among those who died.
About eight hours after the clashes began, the government said Iraqi security forces had restored calm in the cities after "heretics" attacked Ashoura processions.
Iraqi authorities maintained tight security along roads into the Shiite holy city of Karbala, the center of the Ashoura observances, which have been going on for about a week in much of the country. Karbala, about 80km south of Baghdad, is home to the tomb of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson who was killed during a seventh century battle in the area.
Pilgrims lined up to be searched at the entrance of the twin shrines of Hussein and his brother Abbas, about 350m apart. The streets were lined with tents providing tea, milk, food and first aid. The climax of Ashoura -- a massive procession toward the golden-domed Imam Hussein shrine -- was held yesterday morning.
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