이라크 연쇄테러로 시아파 순례자 최소 36명 사망

Published : Dec 20, 2013 - 10:18 Updated : Dec 20, 2013 - 10:18

이라크의 시아파 거주지역인 바그다드 남부 듀라지구 등에서 몸에 두른 폭발물 벨트를 이용한 3건의 연쇄 자살폭탄 테러가 발생, 최소 36명이 숨졌다고 현지 관리들이 19일(현지시간) 밝혔다.

첫 번째 자살폭탄 테러는 시아파 성지(聖地) 카르발라로 가는 길에 시아파 거주지역인 듀라지구 천막촌에서 음식과 마실 것을 제공받던 순례자들을 겨냥, 최소 20명이 목숨을 잃었고 40명 넘게 부상했다.

사망자 가운데에는 이라크 국내외 언론에서 일하는 마하나드 모하메드 기자가 포함되어 있는데 이라크에서는 최근 석 달도 채 안 되는 사이에 모하메드 기자를 포함해 7명의 언론인이 희생됐다.

또 바그다드 남쪽 약 25km와 30km에 있는 유시피야와 라티피야 마을에서도 폭발물 벨트를 이용한 자살테러로 각각 8명씩 사망했다.

바그다드의 야르무크 병원에 옮겨진 부상자 가운데에는 피로 물든 어린이와 여성들이 목격됐다.

수니파 민병대는 시아파를 배교자로 인식, 이들을 겨냥한 테러를 자주 일으키고 있다.

앞서 지난 18일에도 바그다드 동북부 칼레스 구역에서 자살폭탄 테러가 일어나시아파 순례자 5명이 목숨을 잃고 10명이 크게 다쳤다. 또 지난 16일과 17일에도 바그다드 인근에서 시아파 순례자를 목적으로 한 테러로 인해 모두 32명이 숨졌다.

이와는 별도로 군복을 착용한 테러범들이 수니파 거주지인 아부 그라이브의 반(反) 알카에다 성향 사화(Sahwa) 민병대원의 집을 공격해 민병대원과 그의 아내, 자녀 등 일가족 5명을 몰살했다.

사화민병대는 지난 2006년부터 미국에 협조해 이라크 내 테러 등 폭력사태를 크게 줄이는 데 일조한 수니파로 이뤄져 있는데 이들도 다른 수니파에 의해 배신자로 낙인찍혀 공격의 대상이 되곤 한다.

한편 시아파는 이슬람교 창시자 무함마드의 손자 이맘 후세인의 순교(서기 680년)를 애도하는 아슈라 행사 이후 40일 동안 걸어서 시아파 성지 카르빌라를 순례한다. (연합뉴스)

<관련영문기사>

Suicide bombers hit Shiites as Iraq unrest kills 41

Three suicide bombers detonated explosives

belts among Shiite pilgrims in Iraq on Thursday, killing at least 36 people,

while militants shot dead a family of five, officials said.

The deadliest attack hit the Dura area of south Baghdad, where a bomber

targeted pilgrims at a tent where they are served food and drinks on their way

to the shrine city of Karbala, killing at least 20 people and wounding at least

40.

Among those killed in the blast was Muhanad Mohammed, a journalist who had

worked for both foreign and Iraqi media, one of his sons told AFP.

He was the seventh journalist to be killed in the country in less than

three months.

Two more bombers targeted pilgrims in areas south of Baghdad -- one in

Yusifiyah, killing eight people and wounding at least 32, and another in

Latifiyah, killing at least eight people and wounding at least 18.

At Yarmuk Hospital in Baghdad, wounded people were rushed in on gurneys for

treatment. Those injured included children and an old woman whose face was

covered in blood.

One distraught man in the lobby of the surgery department repeatedly struck

himself in the face with both hands, overcome with grief.

In the street outside, empty wooden coffins sat on vehicles, while people

cried and screamed over the loss of loved ones.

Hundreds of thousands of people make pilgrimages to the city of Karbala,

many of them on foot, during the 40 days after the annual commemoration marking

the death of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, known to Shiites as Imam Hussein.

The 40th day, known as Arbaeen, falls on December 23 this year.

Sunni militants, including those linked to Al-Qaeda, frequently target

members of Iraq's Shiite majority, whom they consider to be apostates.

The throngs of pilgrims on the roads make for an easy target, and they have

been hit by a series of attacks in the past few days.

On Wednesday, a suicide bomber targeted Shiite pilgrims in Khales, north of

Baghdad, killing five people and wounding 10.

The toll would likely have been higher were it not for the selfless actions

of a policeman who embraced the bomber just before the attack, in an effort to

shield others from the blast.

On Tuesday, two attacks against pilgrims in and near Baghdad killed at

least eight people, and on Monday two car bombs targeting pilgrims south of the

capital killed at least 24.

Also on Thursday, militants dressed in army uniforms attacked the house of

an anti-Al-Qaeda militiaman in the Abu Ghraib area, west of Baghdad, killing

him, his wife and their three children.

The Sahwa militia are made up of Sunni Arabs who joined forces with the

United States from late 2006, helping to bring about a significant reduction in

violence.

They are often targeted by Sunni militants, who consider them traitors.

Violence in Iraq has surged this year to levels not seen since 2008, when

the country was just emerging from a brutal sectarian conflict.

More people were killed in the first eight days of this month than in all

of December last year.

And more than 6,550 people have been killed since the beginning of 2013,

according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.

Analysts say that widespread discontent among Iraq's minority Sunni Arab

community is a major factor fuelling the surge in unrest, while the civil war

in neighbouring Syria, which has bolstered extremist groups, has also played a

role.

And though the government has made some concessions aimed at placating

Sunni Arabs, including freeing prisoners and raising the salaries of Sahwa

fighters, underlying issues remain unaddressed. (AFP)