NAJAF, Iraq, 2 September 2005 — Thousands of mourners poured into Najaf yesterday to bury some of the victims of the stampede in Baghdad. The stampede on a bridge over the River Tigris during a religious festival on Wednesday killed around 1,000 people, the greatest loss of Iraqi life in a single incident since the US invasion of 2003.
The government announced a full judicial inquiry.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah sent a letter of condolence to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. He offered his condolences to the Iraqi people, praying to God to have mercy on those killed.
Hundreds of graves were dug at a cemetery in Najaf, 160 km south of Baghdad. At least 130 bodies were buried. Every few minutes, empty coffins left the cemetery to return with more bodies.
At least 965 people have been confirmed dead after thousands of Shiite pilgrims got caught in a crush after rumors of suicide bombers triggered panic in the crowd. People died when they jumped into the river below or were suffocated on the roadway.
The final death toll, one senior official said, was likely to be more than 1,000, once all the bodies in hospitals, makeshift morgues and family homes across the city were counted.
Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari ordered the payment of 3 million dinars (around $2,000) to the family of each victim of the disaster.
Though fears of sectarian attacks, real or imagined, may have contributed to the panic that drove the pilgrims to their deaths, the shock was felt across the factional divides.
A barrage of rocket attacks on the crowd, some 200,000 strong or more, had sparked tension early in the day. It killed seven and was claimed by a Sunni group avowing links to the insurgency against the US-backed, Shiite-led government.
