One Shiite pilgrim was killed and 20 others were wounded, including 10 Afghan nationals, in two bomb attacks in Iraq, an interior ministry source said on Monday Xinhua reported
A roadside bomb went off on Monday morning near a procession of Shiite pilgrims in the town of Mahmudiyah, some 30 km south of Baghdad, killing one pilgrim and wounding 10 others, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The pilgrims were walking on a main road leading to the holy Shiite city of Karbala, some 110 km south of Baghdad, to observe the Arbaeen religious ritual ahead of its climax day next Saturday.
In a separate incident, a roadside bomb struck a bus carrying Afghan Shiite pilgrims just past midnight local time (2100 GMT on Sunday) at a garage near a village west of the city of Hilla, some 100 km south of Baghdad, wounding 10 pilgrims, the source said.
Arbaeen marks the end of 40 days of mourning for Imam Hussein, Prophet Muhammad's grandson who was killed in the battle of Karbala in 680 A.D.
Many Iraqis are worried about a resurgence of ethnic and sectarian violence that nearly tore the country apart few years ago.