Iraqis Reportedly Drown After Bomb Scare

(Baghdad) This story demonstrates just how on edge the general population is in some parts of Iraq.

From XinhuaNet.com:

Twenty-four people drowned in the Tigris river on Wednesday after a false suicide bomb alarm scared them off a bridge in Baghdad, an Iraqi police source said.

"Someone among the people walking on the Aaimma bridge in al-Aadhamiya district of Baghdad suddenly shouted 'there is a suicide bomber on the bridge' and then the people panicked and jumped into the Tigris river. So far 24 people drowned," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Details of the incident are sketchy. I hope the source is mistaken about the number of people. Nevertheless, and no pun intended, everybody is jumpy due to the dangerous security situation.


[Update, 8/31/05, 0600 EDT]

This report has it as a stampede killing hundreds.

From the BBC:

At least five hundred people have been killed in a stampede in northern Baghdad, Iraqi officials say.

The incident happened on a bridge over the Tigris River as hundreds of thousands of Shia pilgrims marched as part of an annual religious festival.

It was sparked by rumours of a suicide bomber in a crowd. In the ensuing panic many pilgrims were crushed and some fell into the river.

Mortar rounds had been fired into the crowd earlier, killing seven people.

About 36 others were injured when four mortar round landed close to the Kadhimiya mosque.

Contrary to the previous report, it appears that people were pushed off the bridge as opposed to jumping off. Either way, it's another ugly example of followers of the religion of peace not being very peaceful.