A suicide bomber targeting a group of pilgrims heading to one of Shia Islam's holiest festivals has killed at least 40 people and wounded 60 others south of Baghdad.
The attacks in Iskandariyah was the second of the day against pilgrims travelling to the holy city of Karbala to mark Arbaeen, the end of 40 days of mourning following the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, one of two revered Shia figures buried there. The suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt at a tent where pilgrims can stop and get something to eat and drink in the Hiteen area on the southern outskirts of Iskandariyah, police said.
At least 40 people were killed and 60 were wounded, according to the US military and local authorities."The blast devastated the entire tent, which was about 20 yards long and four yards wide," local official Saleh al-Massoudi said. He said the tent had been set up by the Shia Dawa political party of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki.The US military said the attack occurred on a two-lane road outside a residential area south of Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad.Iraqi police and US troops at a joint base just under a mile away quickly responded to the attack, the military said, adding that about 42,000 pilgrims had previously travelled through the same area without incident.Earlier, extremists attacked another group of pilgrims with guns and grenades in the predominantly Sunni Baghdad neighbourhood of Dora, killing three and wounding 36, police said.The assaults heightened tension around Arbaeen, when millions of pilgrims descend on Karbala, about 50 miles south of the capital.Earlier in the day, a steady stream of pilgrims - some carrying green, black or red banners - walked along a highway out of Baghdad en route to the shrine. Among them were many families, including children and black-robed women.In Karbala itself, crowds already choked the streets though the culmination of events is not until Wednesday.