Pilgrims mark death of revered Muslim imam with Baghdad procession

Shia worshippers gather at the golden-domed shrine of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim in Baghdad (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Amid chilly temperatures and heavy security, thousands of black-clad pilgrims from across Iraq marched on Thursday in the annual procession marking the death of a revered Shia imam.

Pilgrims traditionally travel on foot to the shrine and burial site of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, the seventh of 12 Shia imams who died in a Baghdad prison in the eighth century.