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02May16

16 Shiite pilgrims killed in suicide car bomb attack in Iraq's Baghdad

Sixteen Shiite pilgrims were killed and 43 others wounded on Monday in a suicide car bomb explosion in the southern Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a police source told Xinhua.

"The latest report said that 16 Shiite pilgrims were killed and 43 wounded in what appeared to be a suicide car bomb attack in southern Baghdad," the source said on condition of anonymity.

The attack occurred around noon when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-packed car near a procession of Shiite pilgrims moving on foot at an intersection in Saydiyah district in the southern part of Baghdad, the source said.

Earlier, the source put the toll at four killed and 10 wounded, according to initial police report.

The attack came as thousands of Shiite pilgrims are marching from Baghdad districts and from other Iraqi cities to the mausoleum of Imam Musa al-Kadhim in Baghdad's northern district of Kadhimiyah to commemorate the death of the seventh of the most revered 12 Shiite Imams.

Kadhim's tomb is in a golden-domed mosque in the center of the old part of the holy Shiite Kadhimiyah district.

Insurgent groups, including Islamic State (IS) militant group, frequently attacked Shiite pilgrims who perform communal rituals in the Iraqi cities, killing and wounding hundreds of them in attempts to provoke sectarian strife in the violence-shattered country.

Iraq is currently witnessing a wave of violence since the IS took control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions in June 2014.

Earlier, a report by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq estimated that 1,119 Iraqis were killed and 1,561 others wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in March across Iraq.

[Source: Xinhua, Baghdad, 02May16]
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