Arabeen Pilgrims Baghdad – Jaafar Nassrawi Iraqi police stated, Saturday, that a suicide bomber killed at least 15 persons, in an attack targeting Shia pilgrims passing through a checkpoint in Basra, south Iraq. The attack which took place at the end of the Arabeen pilgrimage, at a time of political crisis in the Iraqi government led by Shiites, renewed fears of sectarian violence in the country.
Iraq saw an escalation of violence in the recent weeks coinciding with the political crisis which followed the issuance of the arrest warrant against Iraqi Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimi, on charges of terrorism.
Reuters cited a police source revealing that a terrorist in a police uniform, holding a forged ID, was able to reach the checkpoint before he blew himself up among policemen and pilgrims. The attack killed at least 15 persons, of which 11 were police officers, as well as wounding at least 40 others.