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Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad reaches climax

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-07-29 17:11

BAGHDAD -- Hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims gathered around a golden-domed shrine in a massive religious assembly in Baghdad on Tuesday, a day after three female suicide bombers struck their procession and killed 32 people.

Traffic policemen search Shi'ite pilgrims on the road as they head to the Imam Moussa al-Kadhim shrine in Baghdad July 28, 2008. At least 1 million people are expected to take part in the pilgrimage in the Iraqi capital, which peaks on Tuesday and marks the death of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, one of Shi'ite Islam's 12 imams, one of the most important events in the Shi'ite religious calendar. [Agencies]

The black-clad pilgrims streamed toward the shrine of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim in the northern neighborhood of Kazimiyah, where police set up checkpoints and searched them.

Related readings:  Suicide bombers kill 57 in Iraq  US air strike kills 8 Shiite militiamen in Basra  US, Iraqi troops battle Shiite militia

Authorities have imposed a vehicle ban in the city and deployed tens of thousands of policemen in the streets in fear of further violence during Tuesday's pilgrimage.

Meanwhile, a major military operation got under way Tuesday in the volatile Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, the Iraqi military said.

Gen. Ali Ghaidan said the operation is aimed at clearing al-Qaida in Iraq militants from what's considered the last major insurgent stronghold near the capital.

The pilgrims on Monday were attacked by suicide bombers in quick succession in central Baghdad as they marched toward the shrine of the eighth-century imam. The bombings undermined public confidence in recent security gains that have tamped down sectarian bloodshed.

Insurgents increasingly use female bombers because their billowing, black robes easily hide explosives and they are less likely to be searched. US military figures show at least 27 female suicide bombings this year, compared with eight in 2007.

Another suicide bombing on Monday killed 25 people during a rally in Kirkuk, 180 miles to the north, where Kurds were protesting a draft provincial elections law that would give them less power in Kirkuk.

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