Al-Aaimmah bridge

The Al-Aaimmah bridge (Arabic: جسر الأئمة, "Jisr al-A'immah") is a bridge over the river Tigris in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. The bridge links the areas of Adhamiya, which is a majority Sunni Arab area, from its East bank with the Shia area of Kadhimiya on its west.

It was the place of a deadly stampede on 31 August 2005 when hundreds of Shiite pilgrims were crushed. The stampede caused the railings to give way, allowing hundreds to fall to their deaths in the river. The bridge had been closed for the three months prior to the incident.

Although Adhamiyah has been the site of many clashes between Iraqi insurgents and US forces as well as tensions between Shia security forces and Sunni residents, in September 2005, the residents of Adhamiyah were credited with saving hundreds of Shia lives.

Shia pilgrims who were caught in a stampede on "the Imams bridge" (Al-Aaimmah bridge), coming from the opposing shore of Kadhimiyah, began jumping from the bridge in an attempt to escape the crush, only to face drowning in the Tigris below. Adhamiyah residents dove into the waters, pulling hundreds of Shia's to the shore, where their fellow residents transported them to hospitals and mosques, in some cases using the mattresses from their own beds as makeshift stretchers.

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4199618.stm (BBC)]