SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) — A bomb hit a procession of Shiite pilgrims in Iraq's capital, killing at least two people Tuesday night, officials said. The blast came days after another attack killed seven on the annual pilgrimage honoring a revered imam.
The blast on Tuesday night targeted the pilgrims, who were marching in the southern Baghdad neighborhood of Saydiyah towards the shrine of Shia Imam Moussa ibn Jaafar al-Kadhim (PBUH) to commemorate his martyrdom, The Associated Press reported.
Last Sunday, two mortar shells hit a procession of Shia pilgrims in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Kazimiyah, killing seven people and wounding 39 others.
The government tightened security around the practices of pilgrimage after the mortar attack. Security forces on Monday blocked all side streets in Kazimiyah and its surrounding areas to secure the pilgrims’ passage.
Violence has risen in the country since the Iraqi government issued an arrest warrant for fugitive Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi.
Hashemi was accused in December of running a death squad that targeted officials and Shia pilgrims. — www.shafaqna.com
