Saturday, January 14, 2012

Suicide bomber kills 15 in attack on pilgrims in Iraq

2:36 AM McGhori

BASRA: A suicide bomber disguised as a policeman killed at least 15 people in an attack that targeted Shia Muslim pilgrims passing through a checkpoint in Iraq’s southern city of Basra on Saturday, police said. The attack at the end of Arbain, one of the main holy days of the Shia calendar, occurred at a time when a political crisis in Iraq’s Shia-led government has renewed fears of a return to sectarian violence in the country. “A terrorist wearing a police uniform and carrying fake police I.D. managed to reach a police checkpoint and blew himself up among police and pilgrims,” said a police official at the scene of the bombing. At least 15 were killed, including 11 policemen, and another 40 people were wounded when the bomber...
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Ten die in India shrine stampede

2:33 AM McGhori

NEW DELHI: A stampede during a religious ceremony in central India left at least 10 people dead, an official said. Senior police officer Rajesh Vyas said the stampede occurred early Saturday when a large number of people surged forward to gain entry into a Muslim shrine, according to the Press Trust of India news agency. Vyas said some pilgrims fell down and were crushed to death. The shrine is near Ratlam, a town in Madhya Pradesh state nearly 480 miles southwest of New Delhi. Police in the region could not be immediately reached for details. Deadly stampedes are relatively common at religious places in India, where large crowds gather in tiny areas with no safety measures or crowd contro...
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Tensions high, US warns Iran not to block shipping

2:30 AM McGhori

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration said on Friday it is warning Iran through public and private channels against any action that threatens the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf. Spokesmen were vague on what the United States would do about Iran’s threat to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz, but military officials have been clear that the US is readying for a possible naval clash. That prospect is the latest flashpoint with Iran, and one of the most serious. Although it currently overshadows the threat of war over Iran’s disputed nuclear program, perhaps beginning with an Israeli military strike on Iran’s nuclear structure, both simmering crises raise the possibility of a shooting war this year. ”We have to make sure...
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