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| Iraq suicide bomb kills pilgrims | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| At least 30 pilgrims have been killed by a female suicide bomber south of Baghdad, Iraqi police say. | At least 30 pilgrims have been killed by a female suicide bomber south of Baghdad, Iraqi police say. |
| At least 25 people were also injured in the attack in Iskandiriya, 40km (25 miles) south of Baghdad. | At least 25 people were also injured in the attack in Iskandiriya, 40km (25 miles) south of Baghdad. |
| The blast targeted Shia pilgrims, many of whom have been travelling south to the city of Karbala to take part in an annual religious ceremony. | The blast targeted Shia pilgrims, many of whom have been travelling south to the city of Karbala to take part in an annual religious ceremony. |
| It is the third day of attacks on Shia pilgrims, with dozens killed in Baghdad and Mosul. | It is the third day of attacks on Shia pilgrims, with dozens killed in Baghdad and Mosul. |
| The Iskandiriya attack happened despite increased security along the route. | The Iskandiriya attack happened despite increased security along the route. |
| Religious targets | |
| A police captain told AFP news agency that the bomber had hidden explosives under an abaya, the traditional head-to-toe black garment, and blown herself up among the crowd just after midday (0900 GMT). | A police captain told AFP news agency that the bomber had hidden explosives under an abaya, the traditional head-to-toe black garment, and blown herself up among the crowd just after midday (0900 GMT). |
| Most of the dead were women and children, police said. | |
| A doctor at Hilla General Hospital said most of the survivors had head and chest injuries, AFP reported. | |
| Hundreds of thousands of Shia have been converging on Karbala in recent days, to celebrate Arbaeen - the end of symbolic mourning for the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, whose shrine is in the city. | Hundreds of thousands of Shia have been converging on Karbala in recent days, to celebrate Arbaeen - the end of symbolic mourning for the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, whose shrine is in the city. |
| In past years the pilgrimage has been the target of similar attacks, blamed on Sunni extremists bent on stirring up sectarian strife. | |
| This year has been no exception: pilgrims have been attacked in Karbala itself and in Baghdad, but this latest explosion has been the deadliest so far. | |
| Female militants | |
| It was a grim reminder that despite the considerable general improvement in security in Iraq there are still people out there bent on igniting sectarian passions - something many Iraqis had hoped was becoming a thing of the past, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad. | |
| Iraqi militants have increasingly used women to carry out suicide attacks as they are less likely to be searched than men. | |
| In 2007, there were eight suicide attacks by women; in 2008 there were 32, the US military says. In early January, a female bomber killed at least 35 Shia pilgrims in a blast near a Baghdad shrine. | |
| Iraqi officials arrested an alleged militant recruiter last month. | |
| Samira Jassim allegedly recruited more than 28 women to blow themselves up in various parts of Iraq. |