Suicide bomber kills Iraqi pilgrims

A suicide bomber struck Shiite pilgrims near a shrine north of Baghdad that has been a flashpoint in sectarian strife, killing at least 25 people, Iraqi police said today.

Authorities said the bomber blew himself up this afternoon in a crowd of pilgrims just 200 yards outside the al-Askari mosque.

A 2006 bombing that destroyed the golden domed mosque sparked years of retaliatory bloodshed between Sunnis and Shiites.