By Xinhua,
Baghdad : At least 35 pilgrims were killed and 65 others injured in a suicide attack south of the Iraqi capital Friday, a police source said.
According to the police source, a female suicide bomber wearing explosive vest exploded herself among a procession of Shia pilgrims in Mussayab, 44 km south of Baghdad.
Most of the victims were women and children, said the police official on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to disclose information.
Tens of thousands of Shia pilgrims are marching from different Iraqi provinces to the holy city of Karbala to commemorate Arbaeen ritual observed to mark the end of 40 days of mourning for Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Muhammad.
Recently, Shia pilgrims have been targeted successively during such a ritual. At least eight pilgrims were killed Thursday in Karbala near the shrine of Imam Hussein.
A new round of violence surged across Iraq after the provincial elections last month, raising fear that a fragile security situation could be reversed.
Major Shia commemorations have frequently been targeted in the past by suspected Sunni insurgents led by Al Qaeda in Iraq in their drive to incite sectarian violence in the war-torn country.