Three killed in Iraq attack against Shiite pilgrims

Iraqi police deployed in the cemetery Friday to counter the threat of bomb attacks, as Shiite pilgrims from southern Iraq visit to pray over the graves of relatives, on their way to the Shabaniyah festival in Karbala (AP)

Published Saturday, August 16, 2008

By AFP

Three people were killed in a car bombing in Baghdad on Saturday targeting Shiite pilgrims heading to the holy city of Karbala for a major religious festival, police and hospital officials said.

The attack was the latest in a wave of bombings since Thursday that have now killed at least 33 people, most of them pilgrims, despite a massive security operation.

Saturday's attack, in the northeastern Baghdad district of Ur, also wounded nine people, the officials said.

More than 40,000 soldiers and police have been mobilised, including 2,000 female security workers, to boost security in and around Karbala ahead of a festival on Sunday commemorating an eighth century imam.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.

The page was last updated on: 14 January 2016 18:01