(Iraq) Bombers targeted Shia Muslim pilgrims who were attending the anniversary of the seventh Shia imam's death in 799, visiting the shrine of Moussa al-Kadhim. Suicide bombers targeted pilgrims walking along main roads in the western area of Mansour and in Bab al-Sharji, in the city centre, while a car bomb exploded in Urr.
The deadliest attack happened in the Urr district, where a vehicle rigged with explosives blew up, killing at least 14 people, including seven children under 14 years of age. In Mansour, a man dressed in a long, black woman's robe, blew himself up among a crowd of pilgrims. At least six people were killed. The second suicide bomber detonated a car bomb in Bab al-Sharji, killing another 12.
The attacks come two days after the preliminary results of April's parliamentary elections showed Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Shia-dominated State of Law alliance had won the largest number of seats.
The deadliest attack happened in the Urr district, where a vehicle rigged with explosives blew up, killing at least 14 people, including seven children under 14 years of age. In Mansour, a man dressed in a long, black woman's robe, blew himself up among a crowd of pilgrims. At least six people were killed. The second suicide bomber detonated a car bomb in Bab al-Sharji, killing another 12.
The attacks come two days after the preliminary results of April's parliamentary elections showed Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Shia-dominated State of Law alliance had won the largest number of seats.
