A female suicide bomber blew herself up in Baghdad today, killing at least 41 Shia pilgrims, officials said.
A female suicide bomber laden with explosives blew herself up today among Shia pilgrims on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital, killing at least 41 people, security officials said.
Iraq is trying to leave years of bombings, killings and sectarian slaughter behind as it moves to cement security gains made in the last two years and revamp an oil sector that gives Iraq nearly all of its revenues.
The bombing took place as thousands of Shia Muslims flooded the streets for the start of an arduous trek to the southern city of Kerbala, 80 km southwest of Baghdad, for the religious rite of Arbain.
An Interior Ministry source and a police official said 41 people had been killed and 106 wounded in the attack on a tent where pilgrims are given food and drink.
The office of Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim al-Moussawi said that the bombing occurred in a crowd and that 19 people were killed, with 80 wounded.
The attack took place as Iraq geared up for an election next month.
More violence is likely during the Arbain religious period and before the election as suspected Sunni Islamist groups try to undermine Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shia-led government.
Millions of Shias from Iraq, Iran, Bahrain and other nations have defied the threat of suicide bombings since the 2003 US-led invasion toppled the Sunni-led government of Saddam Hussein to visit Iraq's Shia holy sites.
Arbain marks 40 days of mourning for Hussein, the Prophet Mohammad's grandson, who died in a seventh century battle at Kerbala. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, beating their heads and chests in ritual mourning, pour into the city for the rite.
Many walk from hundreds of kilometre away. Arbain was once suppressed like other Shia gatherings under Saddam.
Tens of thousands of troops and police have been deployed to protect pilgrims and also around the revered Imam Hussein shrine in Kerbala.
Reuters