이라크에서 한 경찰관이 이슬람 시아파 순례자를 노린 자폭테러범을 덮쳐 자신은 희생하는 '살신성인'의 행동으로 무고한 인명피해를 최소한으로 막았다.
이라크 수도 바그다드 동북부 칼레스 구역에서는 18일(현지시간) 자폭공격이 발생해 시아파 순례자 5명이 목숨을 잃고 10명이 부상했다.
하지만 경찰 간부와 의료진에 따르면 당시 현장에 있던 경찰관이 본인의 안위를 생각하지 않은 행동을 펼쳐 사상자 수를 크게 줄였다.
영웅적인 자기희생의 주인공은 폭탄을 터트리려는 범인을 두 팔로 껴안으면서 주변에 있던 사람들이 치명적인 피해를 보지 않게 했다.
아유브 칼라프(34)로 신원이 밝혀진 경찰관은 결혼해 슬하에 올해 6살과 9살의 자녀를 두었다.
칼라프의 동료인 사드 나임은 "아유브는 순례자의 귀중한 생명을 지켜 순교자가 됐다. 수십명의 무고한 목숨을 구했기에 그의 이름은 길이 빛날 것"이라고 애도했다.
그의 사촌 하산 자셈은 "아유브 칼라프가 순례자들을 살리면서 테러에 분연히 맞섰다"며 "그가 자랑스럽다"고 말했다.
다른 칼리프의 동료 자파르 카미스도 "아유브는 학창시절 친구로 조국을 사랑하고 이를 위해 자신을 기꺼이 버린 용감한 사람"이라며 친구의 용기있는 행동을 기렸다.
칼레스의 폭탄테러는 시아파 순례자를 상대로 한 일련의 공격 가운데 가장 최근에 일어난 것이다.
전날 바그다드주(州)에서 발생한 두 차례 폭탄공격으로 시아파 순례자가 적어도8명이나 사망했으며, 16일에도 2건의 차량폭탄 테러로 최소 24명이 숨졌다.
시아파 신자는 매년 수십만 명이 선지자 무함마드의 손자인 이맘 후세인 기일 후 40일간에 걸쳐 성지 카발라로 순례를 떠난다. 이맘 후세인이 사망한 지 40일째 되는 날은 '아르바인'이라 부르며 올해는 12월 23일이다. (연합뉴스)
<관련영문기사>
Iraq police hero sacrifices himself to save pilgrims
An Iraqi policeman gave his own life on Wednesday in an attempt to protect pilgrims, embracing a suicide bomber just moments before an attack to shield others from the blast.
The bomber struck in Khales, northeast of Baghdad, killing five people and wounding 10, a police colonel and a doctor said.
The toll would almost certainly have been higher were it not for the selfless actions of the policeman, whom the colonel said threw his arms around the bomber, dying to save others.
The police hero was named as Ayyub Khalaf, 34, who was married and had two children, aged six and nine.
"Ayyub was martyred while defending pilgrims," his friend Saad Naim said. "His name will be an eternal symbol because he saved the lives of dozens of innocents."
"We will take revenge on the Al-Qaeda terrorist organisation," he added.
Khalaf's cousin Hassan Jassem also praised his actions.
"My cousin Ayyub Khalaf stood in the face of terrorism as he saved... pilgrims from death," Jassem said. "We are proud of him."
And Jaafar Khamis, one of Khalaf's colleagues in the police, commended the bravery of his friend.
"Ayyub was my friend since the school days. He was a brave man who loved his country and sacrificed himself for it," he said.
"I am proud of him, because he faced terrorism and was able to silence the voice of infidelity and injustice by sacrificing his body and soul."
The Khales bombing was the latest in a series of attacks targeting Shiite pilgrims.
Two in Baghdad province killed at least eight pilgrims on Tuesday, and two car bombings took the lives of at least 24 on Monday.
Hundreds of thousands of people, many of them on foot, make pilgrimages to the holy city of Karbala during the 40 days after the annual commemoration marking the death of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, known to Shiites as Imam Hussein.
The 40th day, known as Arbaeen, falls on December 23 this year.
Sunni militants, including those linked to Al-Qaeda, frequently target members of Iraq's Shiite majority, whom they consider to be apostates.
The United Nations envoy to Iraq issued a statement on Wednesday sharply criticising attacks on pilgrims.
"Such terrorist acts are particularly despicable and unjustifiable, all the more so since practising religious duties is revered in all various faiths," Nickolay Mladenov said in the statement.
Also on Wednesday, a roadside bomb in the northern city of Mosul killed two people and wounded two others, and gunmen killed two soldiers and wounded two in an attack on a checkpoint, officials said.
Violence has reached a level this year not seen since 2008, when Iraq was just emerging from a period of brutal sectarian killings.
More people were killed in the first eight days of this month than in all of December last year.
And more than 6,550 people have been killed since the beginning of 2013, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.
Experts say that widespread discontent among Iraq's minority Sunni Arab community is a major factor fuelling the surge in unrest.
The civil war in neighbouring Syria, which has bolstered extremist groups, has also played a role.
While the government has made some concessions aimed at placating Sunni Arabs, including freeing prisoners and raising the salaries of anti-Al-Qaeda fighters, underlying issues remain unaddressed. (AFP)
