31.8.05

Pânico e morte

More than 600 people have been killed in a stampede of Shia pilgrims in northern Baghdad, Iraqi officials say.
The incident happened on a bridge over the Tigris River as about one million Shias marched to a shrine for an annual religious festival.
Witnesses said panic spread because of rumours that suicide bombers were in the crowd. Many victims were crushed to death or fell in the river and drowned.
Earlier, mortar rounds had been fired into the crowd, killing 16 people.
About 36 others were injured when four mortar rounds landed close to the Kadhimiya mosque.
Isto acontece no momento em que se prepara o referendo à constituição, a 15 de Outubro. O documento tem o acordo de Xiitas e Curdos e a oposição dos Sunitas.
O terrorismo atingiu um novo patamar. No contexto iraquiano, o pânico, o medo causado por um rumor, foram suficientes para matar.