At Least 9 Killed in Attacks in Northern Iraq on Shiite Holy Day

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Devout Shiites cut their heads with blades during an Ashoura procession to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein in Basra, 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008. Ashoura, the tenth day of the Islamic month of Muharram, is marked by Shiite believers as the day that Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad and one of their most revered saints, was killed in the Battle of Karbala in the year 680 A.D. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani) (Nabil Al-jurani - AP)

People pray during Ashoura observances in Karbala, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008. Hundreds of thousands of Shiites beat their heads and chests and whipped themselves with chains Saturday across much of Iraq to honor the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, one of their most revered saints. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) (Karim Kadim - AP)

Shiite pilgrims crowd in front of the Imam Hussein shrine during the Ashoura observance in Karbala, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008. Hundreds of thousands of Shiites beat their heads and chests and whipped themselves with chains Saturday across much of Iraq to honor the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, one of their most revered saints. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) (Karim Kadim - AP)

An Iraqi, his head covered with blood, raises his blade as he observes Ashoura in Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008. Ashoura, the tenth day of the Islamic month of Muharram, is marked by Shiite believers as the day that Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad and one of their most revered saints, was killed in the Battle of Karbala in the year 680 A.D. (AP Photo/Alaa al-Marjani) (Alaa Al-marjani - AP)

Shiite pilgrims crowd as performers re-enact the Battle of Karbala during Ashoura observances in Karbala, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008. Hundreds of thousands of Shiites beat their heads and chests and whipped themselves with chains Saturday across much of Iraq to honor the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, one of their most revered saints. (AP Photo/Ahmed Alhussainey) (Ahmed Alhussainey - AP)

People carry the coffins of two Iraqi army officers killed in clashes in Basra, during a funeral procession in Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008. Authorities raised the death toll from clashes in two predominantly Shiite cities of Basra and Nasiriyah to at least 72, including security forces, civilians and gunmen, with dozens more wounded and 100 suspected gunmen arrested, but said the situation had been brought under control. (AP Photo/Alaa al-Marjani) (Alaa Al-marjani - AP)

An Iraqi boy slashes his head with a blade as sign of grief for Imam Hussein during Ashoura observances in Najaf, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008. Hundreds of thousands of Shiites beat their heads and chests and whipped themselves with chains Saturday across much of Iraq to honor the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, one of their most revered saints. (AP Photo/Alaa al-Marjani) (Alaa Al-marjani - AP)

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By Amit R. Paley

Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, January 20, 2008; Page A19

BAGHDAD, Jan. 19 -- At least nine people were killed in mortar and bomb attacks in northern Iraq on Saturday as millions of pilgrims celebrated the holiest day of the Shiite calendar.

The deadliest incident took place in the northern city of Tall Afar, where seven people were killed and 17 wounded when a Katyusha rocket struck a group of men celebrating the holiday, according to Brig. Gen. Najim Abdullah al-Jubouri, a Tall Afar official.

In the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, two roadside bombs killed two children and wounded seven people about 10 a.m. during the celebrations, said police Col. Adnan Rasheed. The blasts took place near a Shiite mosque that serves as the office for the city's representative for Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq's paramount Shiite cleric.

The violence marred the celebrations of Ashura, which marks the 7th-century slaying of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the prophet Muhammad and one of the most revered figures in Shiite Islam.

In southern Iraq, the death toll from clashes a day earlier between an obscure Shiite sect and Iraqi security forces jumped to 72, an Interior Ministry official said.

The region continued to be on high alert Saturday after the fighting involving the Soldiers of Heaven sect in Basra, the country's second-largest city, and in the province of Dhi Qar.

U.S. and Iraqi forces raided suspected hideouts of the sect's members in Babil province, also south of Baghdad, who planned to attack pilgrims heading for the Shiite holy city of Karbala, said Muthan Ahmed, a police spokesman.

The troops captured 26 suspected militia members in the town of Musayyib, but a large number fled to surrounding farmland, he said.

In Basra, officials said the fighting from Friday had left 40 sect members dead and 76 injured, and 32 members had been captured, according to the Interior Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. He said five police officers and three Iraqi soldiers were killed and 22 police officers were wounded.

In Nasiriyah, the provincial capital of Dhi Qar, 16 fighters were killed and 32 were captured, and eight policemen were killed and 13 injured, the official said.

Special correspondents K.I. Ibrahim, Zaid Sabah, Naseer Nouri, Dalya Hassan and Saad al-Izzi in Baghdad, special correspondent Saad Sarhan in Najaf and other Washington Post staff in Iraq contributed to this report.