A suicide bomber killed at least seven people who were setting up tents yesterday, ahead of a major Shiite religious observance next month, officials said
Iraqi municipality workers clean the scene in Baghdad. Pic/AP
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Baghdad: A suicide bomber killed at least seven people who were setting up tents yesterday, ahead of a major Shiite religious observance next month, officials said.
The bomber struck as residents of Baghdad’s western Eskan neighbourhood were preparing for Ashura, which commemorates the 7th century death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, a police officer said, adding that another 28 people were wounded. A medical official confirmed the toll.
No one immediately claimed the attack. The Islamic State group and other Sunni extremists frequently target Iraq’s Shiite majority, who they view as deserving of death. Ashura annually draws hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims to Iraq, particularly the city of Karbala, where Hussein is buried.
The attack came a day after a triple suicide bombing killed 11 Iraqi security forces and wounded 34 at a checkpoint north of Baghdad. The Islamic State group claimed the attack.
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