& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Iraq to close borders to thwart attacks

9 killed in violence, 20 bodies of drivers recovered

REUTERS, AFP, Baghdad
Iraq said yesterday it would seal its borders next week to prevent Shia pilgrims from flooding into the country, in the latest emergency measure intended to thwart insurgent violence.
The bodies of more than 20 Iraqi drivers and security forces were found in their burnt out convoy south of Baghdad yesterday while eight others killed in separate violent attacks.
The borders will be closed between Feb. 17 and Feb. 22, in a move a government spokesman said was designed to coincide with the climax of Ashura, a major Shia religious ceremony.
Millions of Shias travel across the region to holy sites in Iraq for Ashura, during which many parade and beat themselves in homage to the martyrdom of Imam Hussein in 680 AD.
Suicide bombers attacked pilgrims last year in Baghdad and Kerbala, killing at least 171 people.
"During these dates people will
flood to Iraq from neighboring countries because of Ashura, which will make it difficult to ensure the safety of Iraqis and the visitors," government spokesman Thaer al-Naqib told Reuters.
Naqib said foreign pilgrims should make sure they arrived before the borders closed.
The government, battling a raging insurgency, has adopted special laws that allow it to declare curfews, close borders and detain suspects without normal legal process.
Drivers trying to enter Iraq from Syria, Iran and Jordan say that many border crossings are already shut, meaning foreign Shias will struggle to make the holy journey this year.
Insurgent attacks killed nine Iraqis yesterday. A car bomb in central Baghdad left three civilians dead and a US army spokesman said the blast may have been aimed at an American convoy that passed by shortly before.
The bodies of more than 20 Iraqi drivers and security forces were found in their burnt out convoy south of Baghdad yesterday, as a car bomb killed at least three in the capital's
centre.
The bodies were found in a convoy of government trucks carrying sugar, which police said they believed was attacked at least two days ago and the bodies left to rot.
"This morning a police patrol was in the Suwairah region and found about 20 vehicles that were taking sugar to Baghdad. They were all burned," said a police official, requesting anonymity.
Suwairah is about 60km south of Baghdad, on the edge of the Sunni insurgent area known as the "triangle of death".
As well as the drivers, two policemen and two soldiers who were protecting the convoy were also killed, the official told AFP.
"The bodies were rotting in the vehicles which indicates the attack was at least two days ago," he added.
He said there were no US casualties but the explosion scattered tangled metal and wreckage across Tahrir Square, a major intersection lined with shops and market stalls.