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Suicide blasts hit Iraqi pilgrims Suicide blasts hit Iraqi pilgrims
(10 minutes later)
Nineteen people have been killed and at least 30 wounded in suicide attacks against pilgrims in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, police say.Nineteen people have been killed and at least 30 wounded in suicide attacks against pilgrims in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, police say.
The attacks, carried out by women, targeted Shia Muslims heading for the Kadhimiya shrine in the north of the city for annual ceremonies.The attacks, carried out by women, targeted Shia Muslims heading for the Kadhimiya shrine in the north of the city for annual ceremonies.
The bombers struck as pilgrim convoys passed through the central Karrada district.The bombers struck as pilgrim convoys passed through the central Karrada district.
The city has been under heavy security measures because of the pilgrimage.The city has been under heavy security measures because of the pilgrimage.
Ceremonies to commemorate the death of a revered eighth-century imam, Musa al-Kadhim, will reach a climax on Tuesday and more than a million worshippers are expected. Despite the security, gunmen shot dead seven pilgrims in the southern outskirts of Baghdad on Sunday.
On Sunday, gunmen shot dead seven pilgrims in the southern outskirts of Baghdad despite tight security. The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says that major gatherings for Shia religious ceremonies have frequently been the target for bomb attacks, blamed on Sunni extremists.
The BBC's Jim Muir, in Baghdad, says that major gatherings for Shia religious ceremonies have frequently been the target for bomb attacks, blamed on Sunni extremists. Such attacks were a feature of the cycle of sectarian violence that gripped Iraq last year.
Such attacks were a feature of the cycle of sectarian violence that gripped the country last year. The attacks have been greatly reduced by US and Iraqi government forces taking action against Sunni-based insurgents on the one hand, and the Shia militias on the other.
The attacks have been greatly reduced by American and Iraqi government forces over the past year, to the Sunni-based insurgents on the one hand, and the Shia militias on the other. But or correspondent says that stopping suicide bombers who move among crowds on foot, especially women wearing voluminous clothing, is particularly difficult.
Our correspondent says that stopping suicide bombers who move among crowds on foot, especially women wearing voluminous clothing, is particularly difficult. The pilgrimage, which commemorates the death of the revered eighth-century imam Musa al-Kadhim, will reach a climax on Tuesday and more than a million worshippers are expected.
In 2005 more than 900 people taking part in the pilgrimage died in a stampede at a bridge on the route to the shrine. In 2005 more than 900 people died in a stampede on the route to the shrine. The panic had been started by rumours of a suicide bomber in the crowd.