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Iraq - Ashura violence

Bomb kills four near Kirkuk

Article published on the 2009-12-27 Latest update 2009-12-27 11:20 TU

A procession for Ashura in Kadhimiya district in Baghdad
(Photo: Reuters)

A procession for Ashura in Kadhimiya district in Baghdad
(Photo: Reuters)

Sectarian violence hit a Shia-Muslim procession in northern Iraq on Sunday, but Karbala, the focal point of the annual Ashura rituals, was peaceful.

A bomb hit an Ashura procession in the northern town of Taza Kharmatu, near Kirkuk, in northern Iraq. It killed four and injured 19, according to police. 

There were no attacks on the millions of pilgrims who flocked to the central point of Ashura, Karbala, this year. About 25,000 police and soldiers were mobilised to provde security.

In 2004 bombs killed 170 people in Karbala and Baghdad.

Shia make up about 15 per cent of the world's Muslims. They are the majority of the population in Iran, Iraq and Bahrain and significant numbers are present in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

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