A female suicide bomber killed at least 40 people and wounded 65 in an attack on pilgrims entering a revered Shia shrine in north-western Baghdad, the Iraqi government said.
The blast struck a checkpoint outside the Imam Moussa al-Kadhim shrine in Kadhimiya, a mainly Shia area of Baghdad, as Shias prepared for the Ashura holiday this week marking the death of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad.
Most of the casualties were pilgrims from Iran, security spokesman Major-General Qassim Moussawi said.
‘A woman wearing an explosive vest managed to reach one of the security checkpoints near the revered Kadhim shrine and exploded herself among a crowd of pilgrims,’ he said in a statement.
Iraqi security sources said at least 38 people had died.
