Iranian security forces stormed a series of opposition offices today, rounding up at least seven prominent anti-government activists in a new crackdown against the country’s reformist movement, opposition websites and activists reported.

Two women suicide bombers who killed nearly 80 people in Baghdad today were Down’s Syndrome victims exploited by al-Qaida.

Police in Iran detained a large number of mourners today for mutilating themselves with knives, the official IRNA news agency has reported.

Hundreds of thousands of Shiites beat their heads and chests and whipped themselves with chains today in Iraq as part of a holy day to honour the martyrdom of one of their most revered religious figures.

At least 20 people were killed in Iraq today in violence against Shiite pilgrims marking the Ashoura holy day.

Mortar shells rained down today on a girls’ secondary school in a mostly Sunni area of western Baghdad, killing five pupils and wounding 20, witnesses and police said. At least seven other people died in a series of bombings and shootings across the capital.

A series of bombings struck predominantly Shiite areas in Baghdad today, killing at least seven people and wounding dozens, police said, as insurgents persist in their relentless bid to terrorise the capital in the final days before US and Iraqi soldiers plan to begin a massive crackdown.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis marched and beat themselves today in blood-soaked processions through the holy city of Karbala and other Shiite centres across the country to mourn the seventh-century death of their revered martyr, Imam Hussein.

An apparent suicide bombing ripped through a Shiite Muslim procession today in north-western Pakistan, killing at least eight people, injuring 40 and sparking riots during the Muslim sect’s most important holiday.

A suspected suicide bomb ripped through a Shiite Muslim procession in north-western Pakistan, killing six people, injuring 40 and sparking riots during the Muslim sect’s most important holiday.

Iraqi authorities have set up new checkpoints and warned innkeepers to watch for suspicious people – all part of security measures to protect Shiites marking the holiest day of their calendar this week.

A suicide car bomber struck at a religious ceremony in western Baghdad today, killing at least seven people and wounding 10 more, police and medical officials said.

FOUR explosions ripped through Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 28 people and injuring dozens on the eve of Shi’ite Islam’s holiest festival.

Four explosions ripped through Baghdad today, killing at least 28 people and injuring dozens on the eve of Shiite Islam’s holiest festival.

A trio of suicide attacks has killed at least 27 people and injured dozens in Baghdad, officials said.

SHI'ITE Muslim mourners chanted anti-American slogans yesterday, venting their anger at Iraq's instability after suicide bombings killed up to 271 pilgrims.

Iraqi police and US troops arrested 15 people, including several possible Iranians, in the devastating suicide attacks against Shiite pilgrims as authorities tried to discover how militants staged Iraq’s bloodiest attacks since the war ended.

Two explosions were heard early today in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a day after simultaneous suicide bombings on Shiite Muslim shrines killed at least 143 people.

At least 125 people were killed and hundreds were wounded in attacks on Shiite shrines in Baghdad and the southern city of Karbala today, Iraq’s Governing Council said.

Up to 45 people were believed killed after a series of coordinated explosions struck major Shiite Muslim shrines in the Iraqi city of Karbala and in Baghdad today as thousands of pilgrims converged for the final day of a major religious festival.

Scores of people were feared killed after several explosions hit major Shiite shrines in the Iraqi city of Karbala and in Baghdad today where thousands of pilgrims were gathered to for a religious festival.

An interim Iraqi constitution, put together after a stormy debate in Baghdad, established a bill of rights and struck compromises on the structure of a future presidency and the role of Islam.