Female suicide bombers in Baghdad and the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk killed at least 46 people and wounded hundreds more in attacks Monday, police said.
Three attackers within one mile of each other detonated bombs in quick succession as tens of thousands of Shiite worshippers streamed toward a shrine in northern Baghdad for the annual Kazimiyah pilgrimage, marking the death of an eighth-century saint. At least 24 people were killed in that series of explosions.
In the northern oil city of Kirkuk, another suicide bomber killed at least 22 people and wounded nearly 80 others at a demonstration against Iraq's provincial elections law, an Iraqi police official said.
"Our preliminary reports are indicating a person-borne improvised explosive device detonated in Kirkuk," the U.S. military said in a statement.
A subsequent gunfight between guards at the political office and people in the crowd led to another person being killed. The city is now under a police-imposed curfew.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Baghdad blasts.
During the Kazimiyah pilgrimage in 2005, at least 1,000 people were killed in a bridge stampede caused by rumors of a suicide bomber.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDAzMjM2NDYzMDEyMzc1Njk5NjAxNzY3OQ001))
