(ONGOING BBC) Reporters' log - Iraq explosions (Bombing Thread #2)

[Khephra]

(Forgive me mods, but the other thread was getting long and I wanted people to be sure to see these current updates, especially since the news networks are shutting out any new news.)

Reporters' log - Iraq explosions

The BBC's team of correspondents report from the scene as explosions rock Baghdad and Karbala, where hundreds of thousands of Shia Muslims have gathered to mark the festival of Ashura.
Most recent postings are at the top.



Jo Floto :: Baghdad :: 0912GMT


In the mosque in a big Shia district we are hearing of more casualties but it's a very confused picture.

There is a history of attacks using rockets and mortars in this city. Two major hotels in Baghdad were attacked like that and the arsenal is available to anyone who cares to look for it.

What we're seeing here for the first time is politicians sat round a table and compromising - something wholly new for Iraq and that could be a factor, but this is such a key day in the Shia calendar. You couldn't pick a worse day to attack the Shia community or a better one to provoke discord among the muslims of Iraq.


Paul Wood :: Karbala :: 0900GMT
A few minutes ago they began to appeal for blood over the loudspeaker.

A human hand was just flung some thirty feet into the air onto the roof of the building where we are standing. There is a rumour mill beginning now. Local sources are saying one car has just been recovered with a bomb still intact.

We're seeing tremendous scenes of anger here now. It's very difficult to film - we were told to put our cameras away by the religious police. People are looking for someone to blame now.

There's a sense of shock and anger as you would expect. This is the first time the festival has been held on this day in a free Iraq and everything has been transformed by this attack.

more.......................

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/3524789.stm

[Khephra]

1. Recent update

The city's pretty dazed now. Huge crowds are praying at the main mosque. There are many many rumours now on the streets about how the attacks were carried out. Some believe they were mortars, some believe they were hidden in rubbish containers.

The crowd is turning on anybody who is not a Shi'ite or Iraqi. I just spoke to a badly beaten Italian photographer. It's very tense here.

[Khephra]

2. In pictures: Iraq blasts

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/photo_gallery/3524679.stm

[imax2268]

3. thanks for

the updates...no CNN here at my work...only local news and they haven't started broadcasting yet...

World News Now is up shortly...they might have something...

[Khephra]

4. The normal network early morning news shows

are at least mentioning the situation. I have to go to sleep now, so if people want to keep on posting updates from the above site, go for it.

[SoCalDem]

5. They just have the "robot" in charge during off hours..

Welcom to news a la clear channel..

Sanitized and packaged for your protection..

I bet if Bushie decided he wanted to say something in the middle of the night, they would get it up and running..

Stuff going on elsewhere (even though it really affects us)...that's not important.. We MUST see the LouDobbs rerun for the 3rd time this 24 hr period.. and then we'll get "Giggles" the newsreader..aka Carol Costello..and "Smiley", the weatherman...followed by Dunce Goodhair and his co-host "Bleachie", the smiling blonde :)

Isn't 24 hour news...FUN :):)???

[dudeness]

6. Tariq Ali (must audio)

Tariq Ali is IMHO the foremost authority on the M/E..this a must listen for those who really want to understand the past present and future of occupied Iraq..

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/12/04/1523254

[althecat]

7. G Discussion thread for discussion of why? Cui Bono?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1183874

[Khephra]

8. Latest BBC update

Barbara Plett :: Karbala :: 1025GMT
The Shia have resumed their festival, they are now carrying out one of the rituals in which they run from one of the shrines to the other.

It is supposed to symbolise the people of Karbala coming to the aid of the Imam Hussein, who was killed some 1,300 years ago, that is why the festival is happening, which I think is actually an incredible act of defiance, that they want to continue to go on with their festival after these deadly bombings.

People are angry, first of all because this is a violation of a very special day for them. Already they have been whipping themselves up into quite a high state of emotion through some of the rituals; they were on the edge already.

They turned on one Iranian pilgrim who was apparently a suspect. He was arrested after a while, although first of all I thought he would be lynched.

And they did also turn on some of the foreigners in the city, again the feeling that this must be coming from outside, this must be a threat from outside.

[leftchick]

9. Good Lord!... Photo from Al Jazeera...

I hate waking up to the daily carnage brought by bush*.
:puke:

[Lindsay]

10. Every day

we wake to a new nightmare that Bush has wrought.

I want him out NOW. Impeach him, arrest him for crimes against humanity...SOMEthing.

[DoYouEverWonder]

11. The American leaders are going to be freaking out

about this. Every time there is another major attack in Iraq, it is bigger and more coordinated then the one before. Then the Americans all acted surprised about how they didn't expect this sort of thing, blah, blah, blah....

[lazarus]

12. link to first thread

So folks can follow the time line.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x393782

[Khephra]

13. Thanks Laz!

I was too tired to think about that last night.

[Khephra]

14. Caroline Hawley :: Baghdad :: 1105 GMT

I've just come back from the main shrine in Baghdad, the Kadhimiya shrine. It's very tense. We understand from security forces that mortars were fired towards this shrine and the casualties were high - the health minister says at least 50 are dead, though there are other reports of up to 78 dead.

This has been a shocking day.

[Mari333]

15. What is maddening about this....I wake up, get NO NEWS

as to what kind of shape the kids over there are in..imagine, if you will, your child, and he or she is in another city and you just found out that city was being wracked by explosions..what would you do? would you want someone to call you? would you want someone to contact you and let you know if he or she was okay? would you want any kind of news to allow you to know if he or she was okay? if they were alive or dead?
I wake up to explosions rocking the city of Baghdad, and not ONE fucking news channel talks about it, and our kids are over there..not ONE channel says a word. If an earthquake happened in San Francisco they would talk about it, they would set up a HOTLINE for parents to call.
Not here! Not in Baghdad, we cant call ANYONE TO FIND OUT IF THEY ARE OKAY
we are supposed to sit back and hope a fucking car doesnt drive up in the driveway and tell us our kid is dead
this is shit, absolute shit.
at least DU has the decency to let me know what the actual fucking news is.

[Ediacara]

16. CNN reports 141+ dead as of 8:43AM EST

article

[Mari333]

17. Its time for the troops to get taken OUT of there NOW

NOw!

[Khephra]

18. kick

[Khephra]

20. 124 Dead After Blasts on Iraqi Shi'ite Holy Day

BAGHDAD/KERBALA, Iraq (Reuters) - Blasts tore through Shi'ites marking their holiest day in Baghdad and Kerbala Tuesday, killing at least 124 people on Iraq's bloodiest day since Saddam Hussein's fall.

Furious leaders of the country's 60 percent Shi'ite majority branded the attacks an attempt to ignite civil war.

Polish troops in Kerbala and U.S. soldiers in Baghdad said the blasts were caused by mortars which landed among huge crowds of Shi'ites in near-simultaneous attacks on the two cities.

The U.S. military said last month it had evidence al Qaeda guerrillas were planning to attack Shi'ites to spark sectarian violence.

more.............

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-iraq.html

[Jack Rabbit]

19. Iraqi civil war

Some Iraqis aren't waiting for US troops to leave before commencing a civil war.

We really can't say that this is better or worse than life under Saddam, since this probably would have happened with his passing regardless of whether it came about through war, assassination or natural causes. One up side of Saddam's brutality was that it kept a lid on this.

A question for consumption: Would the disintegration of Iraq be such a bad thing? I'll play devil's advocate and say yes.

Nationalism in the post-colonial world is a somewhat artificial concept. Colonial boundaries were drawn by imperial powers to suit their purposes and had little regard for the the demographic composition of the natives. Nevertheless, as the colonies gained independence, the colonial boundaries were adopted. Civil strife often has been the result as antagonistic groups of people struggle for control of the country bequeathed to them by their former colonial masters; one of the most stark examples of this was the genocide in Rwanda.

Iraq could easily be three nations: The Shias in the south, the Kurds in the north and Sunnis in the central regions all have a distinct history and cultural identities. Would each be stronger apart than they are together?

[bushisanidiot]

21. Prez. Dumbass Sure Has Made The World A Safer Place!

he IS a MISERABLE FAILURE!!

[dArKeR]

22. Look at the CBS pic of Tues. it looks like a massive protest?

through the trees? Or is it a tent city? A market?

the middle pic
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/24/iraq/main541815.shtml