Roadside bomb kills seven Shia pilgrims

Attacks on Shiite pilgrims continued today in Iraq, with a roadside bomb killing at least seven people in southern Baghdad.

The bomb exploded alongside pilgrims travelling to Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, ahead of a Muslim holiday this weekend.

Immediately after the blast, gunmen moved in and fired on the pilgrims, police said. At least seven were killed and 14 wounded.

The attack happened in Dora, a mostly Sunni neighbourhood of Baghdad.

Shiite worshippers will gather this weekend for rites marking the end of a 40-day mourning period for the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed. Hussein died near Karbala in a 7th-century battle.

Today’s attack came a day after two suicide bombers exploded themselves in a crowd of Shiite pilgrims in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad. At least 114 people died in that attack.