41 killed, 106 injured in Baghdad suicide bombing
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The death toll from a suicide bomb attack against a crowd of Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad on Monday rose to 41 and 106 people wounded, an Interior Ministry source said.
"The latest police reports said that 41 people were killed and 106 others injured by the suicide bomb attack targeted Shiite pilgrims in northeastern Baghdad," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Earlier, the source put the toll at 16 killed and 38 wounded.
The suicide bomber, appeared to be a female, blew up her explosive vest among a crowd of Shiite pilgrims marching their days-long trip on foot in Baghdad's district of Bob al-Sham on their way to the holy city of Karbala, 110 km southwest of Baghdad, the source said.
Many of the victims were women and children who were part of crowds of Shiite pilgrims many of whom clad in black and some holding green and black flags.
Tens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims are marching from different Iraqi provinces to the holy city of Karbala to commemorate Arbaeen ritual slated for Feb. 5.
The ritual represents the end of 40 days of mourning for Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson who was killed at the battle of Karbala in 680 A.D.
Major Shiite commemorations have frequently been targeted in the past by various armed groups in Iraq, mainly, to incite sectarian violence in the war-torn country.
Despite relative decline of violence, sporadic attacks are still common in Iraq as part of recent deterioration in security which shaped a setback to the efforts of the Iraqi government to restore normalcy in the country few weeks before March general elections.
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