Explosion Near Shia Imams' Shrine in Samarra; 10 Iranians Killed

In a car explosion near the shrine of two Shia Imams in Samarra, Iraq, 10 Iranians were killed and about 60 others were injured. A suicide bombing in Tikrit, Iraq, also left at least 12 dead. Both explosions occurred on Sunday, November 7, and the Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for them. The state news agency IRNA reported that the Samarra explosion took place 1000 meters from the shrine of the two Shia Imams. Bahram Qasemi, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, condemned these attacks, attributing them to the 'repeated failures of terrorists in advancing their wicked goals in Iraq.' IRNA reported that a delegation from the Iranian embassy in Baghdad has also gone to Samarra to follow up on the issue. Samarra is the burial place of Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-Askari, the tenth and eleventh Imams of the Twelver Shia. These shrines were previously targeted in attacks in 2005 and 2007, causing significant damage, but were rebuilt with the help of the governments of Iran and Iraq and Shia communities. Mohammad Javad Daneshyar, representative of the Iranian Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization in Iraq, told ISNA that 10 Iranian pilgrims were among the dead in the Samarra explosion. Mr. Daneshyar explained that 'the pilgrims were disembarking from a bus in the Samarra parking lot when an ambulance carrying the suicide bomber moved towards them, leading to the martyrdom of the Iranian pilgrims after the explosion.' In Tikrit, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb-laden ambulance, resulting in 12 deaths. The Islamic State has lost control of some major cities in Iraq, such as Tikrit and Ramadi, in recent months. Some of the group's forces are currently besieged by Iraqi forces in Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. The Islamic State also controls parts of Syrian territory.