Sunni-Shi’ite Jihad Update. “Bombers, gunmen attack Shiite pilgrimage in Iraq,” from CNN:
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — A suicide bomber killed at least 40 Shiite pilgrims and wounded 60 others Sunday as the pilgrims made their way to Karbala to commemorate one of the holiest days of the Shiite calendar, the Interior Ministry said.
Women and children were among the casualties, the official said. Most of those killed or wounded were pilgrims.
It marked the second deadly attack on pilgrims Sunday, the official said.
The bomber detonated an explosive vest in Iskandariya about 3 p.m. while the pilgrims were en route to Karbala for al-Arbaeen, the official said. The holiday falls on Wednesday.
Earlier Sunday, militants armed with guns and grenades attacked a group of pilgrims in southern Baghdad, killing three people and wounding more than 30 others, officials said.
The wounded included two police officers, the ministry said.
Iraqi officials had expected problems for pilgrims and issued a ban on carts in Baghdad on Friday.
A Defense Ministry official said the ban was ordered after a horse-drawn carriage blew up near a restaurant in the Karrada district, killing three civilians and wounding six others.
There was no indication when the ban would be lifted.
Every year, thousands of pilgrims amass in Karbala for al-Arbaeen, which commemorates the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.