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Iraq blasts kill Ashura pilgrims Attacks as Iraqi Shia mark Ashura
(about 3 hours later)
At least 36 Iraqi Shia Muslims have been killed in separate bomb attacks at the climax of the Ashura festival. At least 40 people have been killed in a wave of attacks across Iraq at the climax of Ashura, the most important Shia Muslim religious festival.
Police said a bomb left in a rubbish bin in the centre of Khanaqin, a mainly Kurdish town north-east of Baghdad, killed at least 13 people. A suicide bomber killed 19 people at a mosque in Baladruz, north-east of Baghdad. In the same region, 11 people died in an attack in Khanaqin.
People had been gathering at a local religious hall for ceremonies marking the death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson in 680 AD. In the capital, at least 10 people were killed by mortar fire in the mainly Sunni district of Adhamiyah.
An hour later, a suicide bomber struck in Baladruz, killing at least 23. Ashura marks the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson in 680 AD.
Police said they were worshippers gathered outside a Shia mosque in the Dur Mandali area of Baladruz, east of Baghdad, when the man wearing a bomb vest detonated himself. The festival has witnessed serious sectarian violence since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
Many of the victims were reported to be children.
Ashura, the most important Shia festival, has witnessed serious sectarian violence since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
'Peaceful town''Peaceful town'
Both Khanaqin and Baladruz lie near the Iranian border north-east of Baghdad. The area is ethnically and religiously mixed with a population of Kurds, and Sunni and Shia Arabs. The bloodiest attack occurred when a suicide bomber wearing a belt of explosives blew himself up outside a Shia mosque in a market in Baladruz where pilgrims had gathered.
More than 90 people were wounded in the two bombings. Two minibuses carrying pilgrims were also ambushed by gunmen in Baghdad - at least four people were reported killed. The BBC's Mike Wooldridge in Baghdad says the bombing caused shock in what is described as a usually peaceful area, not least because many of the victims were said to be children.
Police spokesman Idris Muhammad said the casualties in Khanaqin were Kurdish Shias, who make up the majority in the city. Earlier, medical sources said 23 people were killed but the police put the death toll at 19.
Most of Iraq's Kurdish minority are Sunni Muslims, but some are Shia. Khanaqin, the scene of previous major violence, was hit by a roadside bomb hidden in a rubbish bin as Shia worshippers held a procession through the streets to a religious hall.
The city has seen serious violence before - a bombing 14 months ago that killed more than 70 people. Just hours later mortar shells hit residential areas in predominantly Sunni areas in Baghdad, killing at least 10 people, officials said.
Police described Baladruz as normally a peaceful town. It is not clear whether the mortars were in retaliation for the targeting of Shia worshippers but the record of relentless sectarian violence means it cannot be discounted, our correspondent says.
An estimated two million pilgrims have gathered in Karbala, south of Baghdad, for Iraq's main Ashura rituals, which are to mourn the death of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson. More than 100 people were wounded in the separate attacks.
There are no reports of violence there. Security measures have been especially strict there, with several thousand extra police and troops deployed. In other violence, two minibuses carrying pilgrims were also ambushed by gunmen in Baghdad - at least four people were reported killed.
Holy city
The attacks came as millions of Shias across Iraq commemorated Ashura in rituals to mourn the death of Imam Hussein in the battle of Karbala in the 7th Century.
Between two and three million Shias have visited Karbala Between two and three million pilgrims have visited the holy city of Karbala, south of Baghdad, over the past three days, according to police estimates.
There have been no reports of violence there - security measures have been especially strict with several thousand extra police and troops deployed.
However, pilgrims with lengthy journeys home know they remain vulnerable, police say.
It is the first Ashura since Sunni extremists bombed an important Shia shrine in Samarra last February, sparking an upsurge in sectarian violence.It is the first Ashura since Sunni extremists bombed an important Shia shrine in Samarra last February, sparking an upsurge in sectarian violence.