British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has condemned the "depravity" of terrorists who launched a mortar attack on pilgrims in Iraq, triggering a stampede near a holy shrine, Britain's Daily Mail will report Thursday. The Mail also asserts that more than a thousand are now dead after a stampeded on a bridge, which caused it to collapse...Excerpts follow...
CNN counters, saying it's not known that 'terrorists' were actually responsible. The cable news network's latest death toll is 843.
"Government officials are investigating that attack and the stampede itself -- which also led to the injuries of 323 people. The death count could rise as crews search for more victims," CNN reports Wednesday. "They also want to explore the extent of any 'technical defects" on the bridge.'"
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The death toll in the incidents in Baghdad is now believed to have risen as high as 1,000.
Mr Straw said in a statement: "I condemn utterly this despicable act of terrorism against innocent civilians just as I condemn those who continue to use violence and terror more widely in order to further their aims in Iraq.
"The depravity of these individuals who commit these acts of terrorism against their fellow Muslims sadly knows no bounds."
Earlier, mortar shells fired by insurgents exploded close to the shrine of a 9th century Shiite saint, whose tomb attracted hundreds of thousands of worshippers who had to cross a bridge over the River Tigris to get there.
Rumours then spread through the crowds that a suicide bomber was present and railings on the bridge gave way, causing worshippers to fall into the river below.
Mr Straw offered the condolences of the people of the UK and said that such actions were "designed to prevent Iraq's progress towards a democracy".
Originally published on Wednesday August 31, 2005.
