Iraq: Deadly bomb attacks on Shia pilgrims in Iraq killed 30 people, suspected a sunni islamist militant group Jaish al-Tariqa al-Nakshabandi
At least 30 people have been killed in a series of bomb attacks in central Iraq targeting Shia pilgrims marking the festival of Ashura, officials say.
In the deadliest attack, a car packed with explosives blew up as a procession of pilgrims passed through the al-Nil area, north of the city of Hilla.
Local police said 16 people were killed, including women and children.
Later, two separate attacks against groups of pilgrims in the capital, Baghdad, left at least 11 people dead.
Police and hospital sources said eight people were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near a convoy of pilgrims in the northern district of Urr, while the other three were killed in Mashtal, in the city’s east.
The violence came a day before the climax of Ashura, when Shia Muslims commemorate the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein, in a 7th Century battle outside Karbala.