Victim grabs suicide bomber before blast kills 11

Second attack in two days
It was the second deadly suicide attack against Ashoura crowds in two days in Diyala, now one of Iraq's most violent provinces, where U.S. and Iraqi troops are fighting to dislodge al-Qaida in Iraq militants.

Wednesday's bombing, in a Shiite village nine miles south of Baqouba, was carried out by a female suicide bomber who struck black-clad worshippers preparing for Ashoura. Nine people were killed.

Ashoura observances have been going on for about a week and are scheduled to climax Friday night through midday Saturday.

Baghdad, where the Shiites' slight majority has significantly increased since 2003, was filled Thursday with Shiite banners and poster images of Imam Hussein, the saint. The images were hoisted on streets, stores, government buildings, tens of thousands of homes and even date palms and light poles.

A narrow roll of black cloth hung from the top floor down to street level at the 10-story headquarters of the Baghdad city government, formerly the Saddam-era information ministry.

Rice, lamb and black tea sweetened with sugar were served free of charge in colorful tents erected on quiet streets in Shiite as well as mixed neighborhoods under the protection of Iraqi troops and police. Shiite hymns narrating the death of Imam Hussein in the Karbala battle blared from giant speakers in many parts of the city.

30,000 troops to protect worshippers
In Karbala, Brig. Raed Shawkat, the police chief, said Iraqi helicopters were supporting the 30,000 troops already deployed in the city and in groves and deserts surrounding it. About 300 snipers have taken position on rooftops close to the shrine of Imam Hussein and the nearby tomb of his brother Abbas, he told reporters.

With al-Qaida's recent use of female suicide bombers — four in Diyala in the past three months — authorities deployed 500 policewomen in Karbala to search female pilgrims.

The U.S. military said Thursday that there was a second major wave of air strikes in a week against al-Qaida in Iraq positions southeast of Baghdad. It said 10,000 pounds of munitions were dropped Wednesday on what it said were bunkers used by the terrorist network as training sites.

The strikes came six days after warplanes dropped 40,000 pounds of munitions on al-Qaida positions in the same area in one of the most intense air raids since the Iraq war began in 2003.

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