91 Iraqis Killed, Including 51 in Karbala Clashes, According to an Initial August 28, 2007 Report

Sotaliraq newspaper reported the following news on August 28, 2007, which are different from the AP report below.

- Four US-led Iraqi soldiers were killed today during fighting against Iraqi fighters in Khalis.

- Three bodies of Iraqis executed by death squads were found in Al-Qaem.

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AP Headline: Shi'i Gunmen Clash at Karbala Festival

By ROBERT H. REID Associated Press Writer

Aug 28, 2007, 4:23 PM EDT

BAGHDAD (AP) --

Fighting erupted Tuesday between rival Shi'i militias in Karbala during a religious festival, claiming 51 lives and forcing officials to abort the celebrations and order up to 1 million Shi'i pilgrims to leave the southern city.

Security officials said Mahdi Army gunmen loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr fired on guards around two shrines protected by the Badr Brigade, the armed wing of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council.

Residents of Karbala contacted by telephone said snipers were firing on Iraqi security forces from rooftops. Explosions and the rattle of automatic weapons fire could be heard during telephone calls to reporters in the city 50 miles south of Baghdad.

In addition to the deaths, security officials said at least 247 people were wounded, including women and children.

The clashes appeared to be part of a power struggle among Shi'i groups in the sect's southern Iraqi heartland, which includes the bulk of the country's vast oil wealth.

Gunfights also broke out Tuesday between Mahdi militiamen and followers of the Supreme Council in at least two Shi'i neighborhoods of Baghdad and in Kut, about 100 miles southeast of the capital, police said.

Extra police took up positions in the center of another Shi'i city, Diwaniyah, after gunmen fired on a mosque associated with the Supreme Council, police said. A curfew was imposed on the Shi'i city of Najaf after a mortar round exploded on a major square, causing no casualties, officials said.

Associated Press correspondents in Karbala contributed to this report but their names were withheld for their security.

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AP Headline: Iraq Orders 1 Million Pilgrims to Leave

By STEVEN R. HURST Associated Press Writer

Aug 28, 2007, 8:32 AM EDT

BAGHDAD (AP) --

Police ordered a curfew Tuesday in the Shi'i holy city of Karbala and ordered more than one million pilgrims to leave after two days of violence claimed least 11 lives during a Shi'i religious festival.

North of Baghdad, hundreds of U.S. and Iraqi forces backed by helicopters and jet fighters killed 33 Sunni fighters.

Police issued the order for Karbala after heavy shooting broke out in the center of the city Tuesday. Trouble started late Monday when scuffles broke out between police and pilgrims said to have been angry over strict security.

Gunshots rang out Tuesday in the area near the city's two major Shi'i shrines which are the focal point of celebrations marking the birthday of the 12th and last Shi'i imam, who disappeared in the 9th century. The festival was to have reached its high point Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

At least five people were killed in gunfire Tuesday that apparently re-erupted when the Shi'i faithful tried to push past frustratingly slow security checkpoints near the Imam al-Hussein mosque.

A member of the city council said the center of town was chaotic with pilgrims running in all directions to escape the gunfire. No one, he said, was sure who was doing the shooting. He said a rocket-propelled grenade exploded near the shrine.

"We don't know what's going on," said the councilman, who would not allow use of his name for security reasons. "All we know is the huge numbers of pilgrims was too much for the checkpoints to handle and now there is shooting."

Four people - two men and two women - were killed in a similar melee near the mosque Monday night. One of the wounded died overnight. AP Television News pictures from the city, 50 miles south of Baghdad, showed pilgrims running helter-skelter as gunfire, apparently police shooting into the air, rang out through the streets near the mosque.

The U.S. and Iraqi assault north of Baghdad began before dawn on Monday when a joint force was landed by helicopter in the village of Gubbiya, 10 miles east of Khalis. The assault force killed 13 fighters and attack aircraft killed 20 others, the military said.

A Bradley Fighting Vehicle was seen engulfed in flames at the side of the road leading to Baghdad Airport Tuesday morning. The U.S. military said the armored vehicle had suffered a mechanical fault and none of its crew was hurt.

In Fallujah, the Sunni city 40 miles west of Baghdad, mourners buried 11 victims of a mosque suicide bombing Monday night. Ten people were wounded in the attack.

A boy was killed and his father was wounded by drive-by shooters who opened fire on their car as they drove home from Karbala. In a separate incident gunmen opened fire randomly on vehicles returning to Baghdad, wounding two pilgrims in a small bus. And a sniper opened fire on pilgrims in southern Baghdad, wounding four. All the incidents were reported by local police who refused to give their names because they were not authorized to release the information.

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