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Bombs Kill 140 on Shiite Holy Day in Iraq

Suicide bombings and mortar attacks in Iraq leave more than 140 people dead and hundreds wounded in Baghdad and the holy city of Karbala. The nearly simultaneous attacks targeted Shiite shrines, where more than 2 million Shiite Muslims -- many of them pilgrims -- had come to observe the holy day of Ashoura. NPR's Ivan Watson reports; hear NPR's Robert Siegel and professor Juan Cole.

Copyright 2004 NPR

Ivan Watson
Ivan Watson is currently based in Istanbul, Turkey. Following the 9-11 terrorist attacks, he has served as one of NPR's foreign "firemen," shuttling to and from hotspots around the Middle East and Central Asia.
Prior to his retirement, Robert Siegel was the senior host of NPR's award-winning evening newsmagazine All Things Considered. With 40 years of experience working in radio news, Siegel hosted the country's most-listened-to, afternoon-drive-time news radio program and reported on stories and happenings all over the globe, and reported from a variety of locations across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. He signed off in his final broadcast of All Things Considered on January 5, 2018.