Female bomber in Baghdad kills 38

01-05-2009 | AP

Attack mars the transfer of security responsibilities to Iraqi forces

Panama Star BAGHDAD. A woman hiding among Iranian pilgrims with a bomb strapped under her black robe killed more than three dozen people on Sunday outside a Baghdad mosque during ceremonies commemorating the death of one of Shiite Islam's most revered saints (Ashura).

The suicide attack, the most recent in a series that has killed more than 60 people in less that a week, was the latest to mar the transfer of many security responsibilities from the U.S. military to Iraqi forces.

Iraqi security forces have deployed thousands of troops in Baghdad and in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, just south of the capital, to safeguard against attacks during the ceremonies.

The attack in Baghdad's northern Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah comes two days after a suicide bomber slipped into a luncheon at a tribal leader's home south of Baghdad and killed at least 23 people.

More than a dozen other people have died in other attacks since New Year's Day.

The Iraqi military held parades to mark the anniversary of its founding 88 years ago and to celebrate a security agreement with the United States that went into effect on January 1.

Under the new agreement, U.S. troops in Iraq will no longer conduct unilateral operations and will act only in concert with Iraqi forces.

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ATTACKS

A woman suicide bomber killed more than three dozen people outside a Shiite mosque.

A suicide bomber slipped into a luncheon at a tribal leader’s home and killed 23 people.

Among the bloodiest attacks during Ashura were a series of mortar attacks and bombings in Baghdad and Karbala in 2004 which killed nearly 200 pilgrims and wounded more than 500 others.