At least 50 people were killed and more than 130 others were wounded following suicie bomb blast at Iraq’s southern city of Basra on Tuesday targeting Shia pilgrims.
According to Iraqi police officials, the incident took place after a suicide bomber disguised as a policeman targeted Shi’ite Muslim pilgrims passing through a checkpoint and hit a tent where pilgrims were being fed around 8:30 am local time.
The incident takes place one of the main holy days of the Shi’ite calendar where pilgrims are marking the festival of Arbain.
The pilgrims were traveling to a mosque in the city of Zubayr, just west of Basra, for the last day of Arbaeen, the solemn holiday at the end of the 40-day mourning period for the death of Imam Hussein ibn Ali, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
In the meantime, Iraq is threatended byShiite Muslims from across Iraq and the world thronged the shrine city of Karbala on Saturday for the conclusion of Arbaeen mourning rituals amid tight security for fear of insurgent attacks.
According to Officials, some 15 million pilgrims will have passed through Karbala by the end of the commemorations, braving the threat of deadly violence targeting the Shiite community that has killed dozens in recent weeks. sectarian violence as a result of political crisis in Iraq’s Shi’ite-led government.
