[18 February 2005] BAGHDAD,(Saba) - Twin explosions during Friday prayers outside two Shiite mosques in Baghdad killed more than 17 people and 23 wounded
,officials said, attacks during a Shiite religious festival that mirrored deadly explosions a year ago.

The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt at the Kazimain mosque in Abu Dishr near Dura," a police officer at the nearby Yarmuk hospital said.

Thousands of Shi'ites marched through Baghdad on Friday to mark Ashura, a ceremony commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.

Last year during Ashoura, twin blasts ripped through crowds of worshippers at Shiite Muslim shrines in Baghdad and Karbala, killing at least 181 people.

TD



SABA