surge update - Bombs kill 28 in Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad

[spanone]

BAGHDAD - Three suicide bombers and a roadside bomb struck Shiite pilgrims taking part in a massive religious procession in Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 28 people and wounding 92, police said.

In the disputed northern oil city of Kirkuk, officials said at least 11 people were killed and 54 wounded when a suicide bomber struck a Kurdish rally.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25880699/

[Ilsa]

1. BBC says 47 now killed, 240 wounded in Baghdad and Kirkuk.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7528117.stm

snip

Three blasts in Baghdad killed at least 25 Shia Muslim pilgrims heading for the city's Kadhimiya shrine.

The attacks, which wounded about 90 people, were carried out by women suicide bombers, police said.

In Kirkuk, a suicide bomber targeted a crowd of Kurdish protesters, killing at least 22 and injuring at least 150.

Kirkuk is disputed between Kurds, Arabs and Turkomans.

Demonstrators were protesting at a proposed law on local elections which has raised tensions there. snip

[Blue_Tires]

2. i'd say something, but

all last week, the media and RWers were saying how the antiwar left should shut up since the benchmarks have been achieved and the corner turned...

[malaise]

4. But none of their media is in Iraq showing us

the wonderful progress.

[Botany]

3. 73 Dead Yesterday

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3412071

[spanone]

5. the surge is at the pearly gates

[pampango]

6. Attacking religious pilgrims and using women suicide bombers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7528117.stm

Three blasts in Baghdad killed at least 28 Shia Muslim pilgrims heading for the city's Kadhimiya shrine.

The attacks, which wounded about 90 people, were carried out by women suicide bombers, police said.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says that major gatherings for Shia religious ceremonies have frequently been the target for bomb attacks, blamed on Sunni extremists.

But our correspondent says that stopping suicide bombers who move among crowds on foot, especially women wearing voluminous clothing, is particularly difficult."
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I wonder to what extent the use of women now as suicide bombers represents a drying up of willing males or is simply a strategic shift since women apparently have an easier time evading security. (I may be unfairly discounting the idea that insurgent groups may be giving women the opportunity to participate in the attacks on an equal basis with men.) It would be interesting to learn how free these women were to make their own decision on becoming a suicide bomber.

We have also been told that Iraqis have become sick of "terrorists" blowing up civilians to make their points and that this has motivated some Iraqis to stand up. It seems that some in the "terrorist" camp haven't got the same message.