Bombing death toll rises to 48

THE toll from a suicide bombing that targeted Shi’ite pilgrims near the city of Samarra, one of Iraq’s worst in recent weeks, rose to 48 dead and 80 wounded, police and officials said yesterday.

The bomber detonated an explosives vest on Saturday at a bus depot at the entry to Samarra, where Shi’ites gathered last week to commemorate the death of one of their 12 revered imams.

The attacker managed to infiltrate a crowd of pilgrims at a security checkpoint where authorities used explosives-sniffing dogs to search vehicles before they entered the city.

“From the cruelty I’ve seen, it’s al-Qaida who carried out this terrorist attack,” said Majeed Abbas, a local leader of the government-backed Sunni Sahwa militia.