Bombing outside mosque in Najaf, Iraq...*Breaking News*

Czar

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3191137.stm
At least 17 people have been killed by a car bomb explosion outside a shrine in the holy city of Najaf, according to reports.
The car blew up near the Tomb of Ali in the central Iraqi city, one of the holiest shrines for Shia Muslims, just as main weekly prayers were ending.

No group has admitted carrying out the attack.

But correspondents say that a power struggle has been going on within what is known as the Hawza - the Shia religious establishment based in Najaf.

Eyewitnesses described a scene of bodies scattered on the ground as the injured wandered around the square in panic.


The BBC's Valerie Jones, in Baghdad, said part of the entrance to the mosque is said to have collapsed on the crowd, and many people are feared to be trapped by the debris.

A restaurant was also badly damaged in the blast.
 
Jan 12, 2003
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CNN beat Fox this morning, but conflicting stories...here's my FNC Alert:

CAR BOMB KILLS UP TO 20 OUTSIDE IRAQI MOSQUE; SHIITE LEADER REPORTED AMONG THE DEAD

**Watch FOX News Channel or go to http://foxnews.com for more



If you guys see a link to a story in the not-too-distant future, please post...
 

BOBDN

Banned
May 21, 2002
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CNN is covering the bombing in Najaf right now.

This, needless to say, isn't good. So far reporting 75 dead. People in Baghdad are reported to be grabbing in their guns, jumping in their cars and heading to Najaf. There are fears being expressed of a civil war. Reporting Iraqis are blaiming the US for lack of security. Now saying confirmed 75 dead. Reporters are on the scene but there have been a number of threats against them as well as coalition troops according to CNN.

This is precisely the type of situation the Bush administration was warned about. We're getting into deep doo doo for nothing. Bush is going to learn the hard way you don't have to go looking for trouble in the world. There's trouble enough without looking for it.

Only problem is we'll be the ones paying for his education.
 

Nitemare

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
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Why can't all fundamentalist be rounded up shipped to australia and it be sold on pay per view?

Let them kill each other I'm tired of them killing innocents
 

Aimster

Lifer
Jan 5, 2003
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Why do these people do that? and they say they are Muslim... whatever. Educate the world!!
 

alchemize

Lifer
Mar 24, 2000
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I wonder who would be motivated to do this? Sounds like Saddam supporters and/or Sunni Muslims, or possibly infighting within the Shias. What a peaceful religion.

 

Aimster

Lifer
Jan 5, 2003
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Originally posted by: alchemize
I wonder who would be motivated to do this? Sounds like Saddam supporters and/or Sunni Muslims, or possibly infighting within the Shias. What a peaceful religion.

Sunni muslims hate Shia Muslims. Sunni muslims and Shia Muslims differ in so many ways that they should each have their own religion.
By the way.. Islam is a very peaceful religion. Read the Quran..

 

BOBDN

Banned
May 21, 2002
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Originally posted by: alchemize
I wonder who would be motivated to do this? Sounds like Saddam supporters and/or Sunni Muslims, or possibly infighting within the Shias. What a peaceful religion.

The Sunnis, Shias and Kurds lived in relative peace before March 17, 2003.
 

alchemize

Lifer
Mar 24, 2000
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Originally posted by: Aimster
Originally posted by: alchemize
I wonder who would be motivated to do this? Sounds like Saddam supporters and/or Sunni Muslims, or possibly infighting within the Shias. What a peaceful religion.

Sunni muslims hate Shia Muslims. Sunni muslims and Shia Muslims differ in so many ways that they should each have their own religion.
By the way.. Islam is a very peaceful religion. Read the Quran..

Religion is defined by the people who practice it, not the book.

Not that christianity hasn't stooped to the same levels (i.e. Catholics/Protestants in Ireland). But it didn't absorb their whole religion.
 

Aimster

Lifer
Jan 5, 2003
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Originally posted by: BOBDN
Originally posted by: alchemize
I wonder who would be motivated to do this? Sounds like Saddam supporters and/or Sunni Muslims, or possibly infighting within the Shias. What a peaceful religion.

The Sunnis, Shias and Kurds lived in relative peace before March 17, 2003.

No they didn't. Saddam killed many Shias because Sunnis hate Shias.
 

alchemize

Lifer
Mar 24, 2000
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Originally posted by: BOBDN
Originally posted by: alchemize
I wonder who would be motivated to do this? Sounds like Saddam supporters and/or Sunni Muslims, or possibly infighting within the Shias. What a peaceful religion.

The Sunnis, Shias and Kurds lived in relative peace before March 17, 2003.

In Iraq, where it was enforced by torture and murder. Can you say the same for Turkey? Pakistan?
 

Nitemare

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
35,466
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Originally posted by: BOBDN
Originally posted by: alchemize
I wonder who would be motivated to do this? Sounds like Saddam supporters and/or Sunni Muslims, or possibly infighting within the Shias. What a peaceful religion.

The Sunnis, Shias and Kurds lived in relative peace before March 17, 2003.

If you call genocide peace, then yes they did
 

alchemize

Lifer
Mar 24, 2000
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But it won't be our fault if we don't tie it to the invasion!

Never fear, BOBDN will find another way for it to be our fault.
 

kaizersose

Golden Member
May 15, 2003
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Originally posted by: BOBDN
Originally posted by: alchemize
I wonder who would be motivated to do this? Sounds like Saddam supporters and/or Sunni Muslims, or possibly infighting within the Shias. What a peaceful religion.

The Sunnis, Shias and Kurds lived in relative peace before March 17, 2003.

yeah, except for the time when saddam gased an entire kurd village and 50,000 people died. or the time he crushed a shia rebellion in the south and killed another 10-15,000. but other than that i think it was pretty peaceful.
rolleye.gif
 

SuperTool

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
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Originally posted by: kaizersose
Originally posted by: BOBDN
Originally posted by: alchemize
I wonder who would be motivated to do this? Sounds like Saddam supporters and/or Sunni Muslims, or possibly infighting within the Shias. What a peaceful religion.

The Sunnis, Shias and Kurds lived in relative peace before March 17, 2003.

yeah, except for the time when saddam gased an entire kurd village and 50,000 people died. or the time he crushed a shia rebellion in the south and killed another
10-15,000. but other than that i think it was pretty peaceful.
rolleye.gif

Rebellions are never peaceful.
 

BOBDN

Banned
May 21, 2002
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I don't seem to remember anyone bombing mosques in Iraq before the invasion.

Whatever problems Iraq faced were their own. Now they are ours.

What exactly are we gaining from this? The right to replace Saddam as the bad guy?
 

LilBlinbBlahIce

Golden Member
Dec 31, 2001
1,837
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Originally posted by: alchemize
Originally posted by: Aimster
Originally posted by: alchemize
I wonder who would be motivated to do this? Sounds like Saddam supporters and/or Sunni Muslims, or possibly infighting within the Shias. What a peaceful religion.

Sunni muslims hate Shia Muslims. Sunni muslims and Shia Muslims differ in so many ways that they should each have their own religion.
By the way.. Islam is a very peaceful religion. Read the Quran..

Religion is defined by the people who practice it, not the book.

Not that christianity hasn't stooped to the same levels (i.e. Catholics/Protestants in Ireland). But it didn't absorb their whole religion.

I don't see how you can say violence has absorbed the whole religion. People in Malaysia, Turkey, practically all the "stans" except Pakistan, Bangladesh, Muslims in America, the many Muslims in China, the non Chechnyan Muslims in Russia and many millions more around the world are living normal lives not "absorbed" in violence. I don't think most people realize how enourmous Islam is, or the fact that what happens in one or two countries, or the actions of a few "enemy combattants" is not representative of the whole. Palestine is not Islam, neither is Afghanistan or Indonesia. I don't see how you can think the whole religion has been taken hostage by violent extreamist when your neighbour may very well be Muslim. There are over 7 million in the US alone. Besides, I don't think this bombing was religiously motivated. It might have been, but I think this was just another effort to destabalize the situation and draw hatred b/n Sunnis and Shiites and polarize more hatred towards the US by depicting us as not having offered enough security to a country we pointlessly invaded and have reduced to quasi-chaos.
 

alchemize

Lifer
Mar 24, 2000
11,489
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Originally posted by: BOBDN
I don't seem to remember anyone bombing mosques in Iraq before the invasion.

Whatever problems Iraq faced were their own. Now they are ours.

What exactly are we gaining from this? The right to replace Saddam as the bad guy?

So that's enough to establish a causal relationship with the invasion? Were churches bombed after we invaded Germany? Japan? Panama? No. Were they after we invaded Afghanistan? Iraq? Yes. If you want to tie a causal relationship, what do the last 2 have in common that the first 3 don't? Islam.

Your second question is a much more relevant question. What exactly do they have to gain from this? If it is saddam supporters, then are they trying to incite a civil war between Shia and Sunni? If it is Shia infighting, are they that bonkers to kill 100 people to get to one? If it is Sunni, the same question applies? I guess the first one would make the most sense, since Saddam never flinched at killing the shias.
 

alchemize

Lifer
Mar 24, 2000
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Originally posted by: LilBlinbBlahIce
Originally posted by: alchemize
Originally posted by: Aimster
Originally posted by: alchemize
I wonder who would be motivated to do this? Sounds like Saddam supporters and/or Sunni Muslims, or possibly infighting within the Shias. What a peaceful religion.

Sunni muslims hate Shia Muslims. Sunni muslims and Shia Muslims differ in so many ways that they should each have their own religion.
By the way.. Islam is a very peaceful religion. Read the Quran..

Religion is defined by the people who practice it, not the book.

Not that christianity hasn't stooped to the same levels (i.e. Catholics/Protestants in Ireland). But it didn't absorb their whole religion.

I don't see how you can say violence has absorbed the whole religion. People in Malaysia, Turkey, practically all the "stans" except Pakistan, Bangladesh, Muslims in America, the many Muslims in China, the non Chechnyan Muslims in Russia and many millions more around the world are living normal lives not "absorbed" in violence. I don't think most people realize how enourmous Islam is, or the fact that what happens in one or two countries, or the actions of a few "enemy combattants" is not representative of the whole. Palestine is not Islam, neither is Afghanistan or Indonesia. I don't see how you can think the whole religion has been taken hostage by violent extreamist when your neighbour may very well be Muslim. There are over 7 million in the US alone. Besides, I don't think this bombing was religiously motivated. It might have been, but I think this was just another effort to destabalize the situation and draw hatred b/n Sunnis and Shiites and polarize more hatred towards the US by depicting us as not having offered enough security to a country we pointlessly invaded and have reduced to quasi-chaos.

One or two countries? The US is probably the only country in the world with a large muslim population that doesn't have frequent terrorist attacks. These "enemy combatants" aren't operating in a vaccuum. They find local support in every country with a significant muslim population in the world. Even in "modern" Turkey. It may be driven by islamic fundamentalists, but the general islamic population turns a blind eye to it. Or maybe you missed the "jewish conspiracy" polls about 9/11?

If it wasn't religiously motivated, it was religiously targeted, to inspire hatred and violence between religions.