The Pakistani military has pounded an extremist stronghold near the Afghan border where a rebel leader blamed for the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is believed to be hiding, officials said.

Hundreds of thousands of Shiites beat their heads and chests and whipped themselves with chains today in Iraq as part of a holy day to honour the martyrdom of one of their most revered religious figures.

A suicide attacker blew himself up at a Shiite mosque in the Pakistan city of Peshawar today killing at least five people and wounding 20.

Shia worshippers in three Iraqi cities today suffered bombings and ambushes, killing at least 39 people, during the climax of ceremonies marking Ashoura, the holiest day in the Shia calendar.

A suicide bomber killed a police officer protecting a Shia Muslim procession in north-western Pakistan today, while rocket fire injured 11 worshippers at a Shia mosque, stoking fears of sectarian bloodshed as the holy festival of Ashoura builds towards its climax.

PAKISTANI police have launched an investigation to learn the identity of a suicide bomber who killed 15 people in an attack over the weekend on a Shiite mosque in the north-west city of Peshawar, an official said.

A US military helicopter crashed during combat operations near Najaf today, killing two crew members, the US military said.

Pakistani police launched an investigation to learn the identity of a suicide bomber who killed 15 people in an attack on a Shiite mosque in the north-west city of Peshawar, an official said today.

A suicide attacker exploded a bomb among police officers on guard near a Shiite Muslim mosque in this north-western Pakistani city late today, killing at least 15 people and wounding more than 30.

A British soldier was killed when a roadside bomb hit an army patrol in southern Iraq today.

The United Nations last week temporarily grounded all helicopters involved in earthquake relief work in northern Pakistan due to growing anger over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed published in Western media, an official said today.

TENS of thousands of Iraqis marched and beat themselves yesterday in blood-soaked processions through this holy city and other Shi’ite centres around the country to mourn the seventh century death of their revered martyr, Imam Hussein.

Danes feared religious processions in Muslim countries would spill into violence against its diplomats and soldiers today.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis marched and beat themselves today in blood-soaked processions through the holy city of Karbala and other Shiite centres across the country to mourn the seventh-century death of their revered martyr, Imam Hussein.

MASKED gunmen assassinated a Sunni Arab cleric who had headed the city council in once-restive Fallujah yesterday.

Iraqi authorities have set up new checkpoints and warned innkeepers to watch for suspicious people – all part of security measures to protect Shiites marking the holiest day of their calendar this week.

A CAR bomb exploded during prayers at a Shi’ite mosque in Baghdad yesterday, killing eight people and wounding 20, police said.

Angry, weeping relatives prepared today to bury dozens of people killed in a suicide attack at a funeral in Mosul.

Four suicide bombers blew themselves up in Iraq today, killing at least six people as Shiite Muslim worshippers around the country celebrated the holiest day of the year.

A suicide car bomber struck at a religious ceremony in western Baghdad today, killing at least seven people and wounding 10 more, police and medical officials said.

Shiite Muslims, many kneeling in prayer, were attacked in their mosques and on the streets on the eve of their holiest day, with five bombings killing 36 people in the deadliest day in Iraq since the January 30 national elections.

FOUR explosions ripped through Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 28 people and injuring dozens on the eve of Shi’ite Islam’s holiest festival.

Four explosions ripped through Baghdad today, killing at least 28 people and injuring dozens on the eve of Shiite Islam’s holiest festival.

A trio of suicide attacks has killed at least 27 people and injured dozens in Baghdad, officials said.

Witnesses say a second bomb has exploded at a mosque in western Baghdad.

Iraq partially sealed its land borders today as part of stepped-up security on the eve of the holiest day of the Shiite Muslim calendar as violence persisted unabated around the country.

Two explosions were heard early today in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a day after simultaneous suicide bombings on Shiite Muslim shrines killed at least 143 people.

Armed men opened fire on Shiite Muslim worshippers during a religious procession in a city in southwestern Pakistan today, killing at least 41 people and wounding more than 150 others.