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Three suicide bomb attacks target Shia pilgrims in Iraq | |
(about 5 hours later) | |
Three suicide bomb attacks targeting Shia pilgrims travelling to the Iraqi city of Karbala for a religious event have killed at least 29 people. | |
The attackers struck in the capital Baghdad and in two sites to the south. | |
Meanwhile, gunmen wearing military uniforms shot dead a family of five in Baghdad's western suburb of Abu Ghraib. | Meanwhile, gunmen wearing military uniforms shot dead a family of five in Baghdad's western suburb of Abu Ghraib. |
Sectarian violence has surged across Iraq this year. More than 8,000 people have been killed since January, the highest annual toll since 2008. | |
The UN says the overall death toll in November was 659, including 565 civilians and 94 members of the Iraqi security forces, compared with 979 in October. | |
'Heretics' | |
The Baghdad attack took place in the southern district of Dora; a suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt as pilgrims had gathered at a tent for refreshments. Fourteen people were killed and 28 were wounded, police said. | |
A further eight people were killed and 28 wounded when a suicide attacker blew himself up among pilgrims in Youssifiyah, some 20km (12 miles) south of Baghdad, shortly after sunset, the Associated Press quotes officials as saying. | |
A third suicide bomber detonated explosives in the town of Latifiyah, some 30km (20 miles) south of Baghdad, killing at least seven people and wounding 25. | |
The pilgrims were heading to the holy city of Karbala for Arbaeen, which marks the end of the 40 days of mourning for the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussein. | |
Shia pilgrims are frequent targets of Sunni militants who consider them to be heretics. | |
In Baghdad, gunmen broke into the home of a former member of a Sahwa, or Awakening Council - a Sunni militia set up to combat al-Qaeda - killing him, his wife and at least two of their children. There were conflicting reports about whether the fifth victim was another child or the wife's brother. | |
The UN has called on Iraq's political leaders to co-operate to end the bloodshed, which has escalated since an army raid on a Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp in April 2013. | The UN has called on Iraq's political leaders to co-operate to end the bloodshed, which has escalated since an army raid on a Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp in April 2013. |
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