3 Shiite pilgrims killed in bomb attack near Baghdad

Three Shiite pilgrims were killed and 14 others wounded in a bomb attack near the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Thursday, police said. The attack occurred in the morning when a roadside bomb struck a procession of Shiite pilgrims near the town of Hafriyah, some 50 km southeast of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The pilgrims were heading to the city of Karbala, some 110 km south of Baghdad to observe Ashura commemoration rituals that mark the death of Imam Hussein, one of the Shiite's 12 most revered Imams, who was killed and buried in Karbala in 680 AD. Insurgents frequently attacked Shiite pilgrims who perform communal rituals in the Iraqi cities, killing and wounding hundreds of them in attempts to provoke sectarian strife in the violence-shattered country. Iraq is witnessing its worst eruption of violence in recent years. According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, almost 7, 000 Iraqis were killed and over 16,000 others injured from January to October this year.