(AP/Waterbury Republican-American) Shiite preacher Hazim al-Aaraji has openly accused Wahhabis and al-Qaeda of carrying out attacks which killed at least 181 people and wounded 553 during one of the most important Shiite holidays. "We are not afraid of saying the truth, which is that al-Qaeda and the Wahhabists are behind the attacks on Kazimiya and Karbala," Al-Aaraji said Friday in a sermon outside the Kazimiya shrine in Baghdad. "Wahhabis believe that the killing of Shiites curries favor with God," said Abbas al-Robai, editor of the Shiite weekly newspaper al-Hawza. "They are behind the attacks." Shiites have long been a favorite target of Wahhabi warriors in Iraq, who sacked Karbala in 1801, and twice laid siege to the nearby holy city of Najaf early in the 19th century.
2004-03-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive