Shiite

This photo, released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows blood soaked streets and damaged buses after a bombing in Damascus on Saturday.

World News

Explosions in Damascus Target Shiites From Iraq, Kill At Least 40

11:41am March 11, 2017

by Miles Parks

The bombing, near a revered cemetery on the border of the old city of Damascus, appears to have targeted Shiite visitors from Iraq. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Iraqi soldiers and civilians inspect the damage at the site of a suicide bombing that targeted Shiite Muslims on Saturday in the Shaab area of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

World News

Suicide Bomber Targets Shiites In Baghdad, Killing At Least 32 People

2:01pm October 15, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The bomber hit a crowded tent of people participating in the Shiite ritual of Ashura. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.

An Afghan protester screams near the scene of a suicide attack that targeted crowds of minority Shiite Hazaras during a demonstration in Kabul on Saturday.

World News

Dozens Killed In Attack On Protest March Of Minority Hazara Community In Kabul

4:41pm July 23, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Afghan authorities say that at least 80 people were killed and 231 were injured in the attack. The Islamic State claimed responsibility, saying it was targeting a "gathering of Shiites."

An Iraqi man displays steel pellets at the site of a suicide bombing Tuesday in the Shaab area of Baghdad.

World News

4 Blasts In Baghdad Kill Scores Of People

9:45am May 17, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

Outdoor markets in two Shiite neighborhoods were struck by blasts on Tuesday. A suicide bomber hit a third neighborhood. Then an SUV exploded in Sadr City, another Shiite region of the capital.

Sunni imam Aziz Babaei, in his prayer room in Tehran, has been telling other Iranian Sunnis to be careful. One radical act, he warns, could bring pain on the whole community.

World News

The Precarious Existence Of Iran's Sunni Muslims

5:00am February 11, 2016

by Steve Inskeep

Shiite-majority Iran is home to millions of Sunnis, including the Sunni imam who opened his door to NPR's Steve Inskeep in Tehran. "We live together nicely," he insists. But he must speak with care.

World News

Saudi Arabia, Iran Face Off As Sectarian Tensions Escalate After Executions

10:51pm January 03, 2016

by Deb Amos

A cold war in the Middle East just turned a lot hotter. Saudi Arabia, a Sunni power, and Iran, a Shiite one, have long been bitter rivals, but always maintained diplomatic relations — until now.

A volunteer at a Christian church in Qosh, Iraq, loads aid onto a handcart Monday for delivery to displaced Shiites who are sheltering there.

For Iraqis In Crisis, Dividing The Country Seems A Poor Solution

7:35am July 29, 2014

by Alice Fordham

For centuries, Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds had coexisted in Mosul, but some fear ruptures there may be harbingers of the partition of Iraq. If that happens, Ahmed Ali may never see his farm again.

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The radical Islamic State has ordered shop owners to cover the faces of mannequins in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, shop owners say. The Islamic State has begun enforcing its strict interpretation of Islamic law in the city and other places it control

World News

Common Ground Between Iraq's Rebels May Be Crumbling

10:36pm July 23, 2014

by Leila Fadel

The radical Islamic State and former associates of Saddam Hussein have fought together against Iraq's government. But the fault lines between the unlikely partners are beginning to show.

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The shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf, shown here in 2007, is one of the holiest Shiite Muslim sites. The quiet city is home to numerous clerics, who traditionally do not involve themselves in politics.

World News

In Iraq's Sacred City Of Najaf, Clerics Call On Shiites To Fight

1:08pm July 03, 2014

by Alice Fordham

Senior Shiite Muslim clerics usually stay out of politics. But they've broken with tradition and issued a call to arms. Shiites are now volunteering — and dying — in the fight against Sunni Muslims.

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