Joyful day turns into tragedy
BAGHDAD, August 31 – What started out as a joyful day turned out to be the worst event since the start of the war in Iraq. As thousands gathered today to celebrate the martyrdom of the Shiite imam Mussa Khadim the worst possible scenario unraveled quickly. When thousands headed for the shrine they were forced to pass a bridge that led to the shrine. Rumors of a suicide bomber among the crowd quickly spread and over 800 people were killed in the stampede that followed, mainly women, children and elderly were trampled when chaos broke loose.
The morning started out as a disaster when at 8AM two mortars struck the neighborhood surrounding the shrine killing over 15 people and injuring more than 30. An hour later dozens of people came to the hospital after experiencing effects of poisoning, probably from the free food and water distributed. One Shiite politician claims at least 100 people were killed because of this poisoning. Then, again one hour later total disaster took place when the stampede made its’ way over the bridge claiming hundreds of innocent victims.
The week started out so good for the Shiites, with the constitutional draft approved which benefits them in many ways they finally got the political power they craved for so many decades. Today the celebration turned into despair as over 1,000 victims were reported at the various disaster areas.
