Special Report: Tension escalates in
Iraq
TEHRAN, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Iran has closed a border
crossing with Iraq after at least 78 Iranian pilgrims were killed in recent
deadly bombing attacks in the neighboring country, state radio reported
Saturday.
The Khosravi border crossing, located in Iran's
western province of Kermanshah, has been closed for Iranians until further
notice, the report said.
But Iran's media did not reveal whether other border
crossings with Iraq were also closed.
Iran's English daily Tehran Times reported on
Saturday that at least 78 Iranian pilgrims were killed in the bloody suicide
attacks in Iraq on Thursday and Friday.
Mohsen Hakim, the representative of the Islamic
Supreme Council of Iraq in Iran, blamed al-Qaida and the remnants of Saddam
Hussein's Baath regime for the terror acts, Tehran Times said.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi on
Friday condemned the "terrorist attacks" in Iraq and said they had been carried
out by "enemies of Tehran-Baghdad relations."
"Some people intend to weaken historical,
deep-rooted, and growing ties between the two nations of Iran and Iraq and the
continuation of insecurity in Iraq would justify illegitimate presence of aliens
in the region," Qashqavi was quoted by state media as saying.
Iran's supreme leader blames U.S. for
deadly bombings in Iraq
TEHRAN,
April 25 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has blamed the
United States for the recent deadly bombing attacks in Iraq that killed at least
78 Iranian pilgrims, Iran's English-language satellite channel Press TV reported
on Saturday. Full story
Suicide bombings kill 76, top al-Qaida
militant captured in Iraq
BAGHDAD, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Iraq was rocked by two
suicide bombings which killed 76 people and wounded some 120 others on Thursday
as the security forces announced the capture of a suspected top leader of
al-Qaida in Iraq network.
The most deadly attack occurred near the town of
Maqdadiyah, some 100 km northeast of Baghdad, in the volatile province of
Diyala, when a suicide bomber struck Iranian Shiite pilgrims inside a restaurant
during lunch time. Full story
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Residents gather at the site of a
suicide bombing in Baghdad April 23, 2009. A suicide bomber wearing a vest
stuffed with explosives blew himself up in a group of police distributing
relief supplies in Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 28 people
and wounding 50, Iraqi police said.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Photo Gallery>>> |
U.S. military official loosens tone on
withdrawal deadline for Iraq
WASHINGTON, April 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. troops may
remain in a Iraq city with instable security situation after June 30, 2010 if
they are requested by the Iraqi government, said a U.S. military official on
Tuesday. Full story
News Analysis: New wave of deadly bombings shadowing Iraq's
stability
BAGHDAD, April 12 (Xinhua) -- A new wave of deadly
bombings struck Iraqi cities recently raising fears that the war-torn country
could again go back to earlier stages of chaos and bloodshed. Full story
