Female suicide bomber kills 41

BAGHDAD – A female suicide bomber walking among Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad detonated an explosives belt yesterday, killing at least 41 people and wounding more than 100, officials said.

It was the first major strike this year against pilgrims making their way to the southern city of Karbala to mark a Shiite holy day. It raised fears of an escalation of attacks when the pilgrimage culminates on Friday.The bomber hid the explosives underneath an abaya – a women’s black cloak that covers from head to toe – as she joined a group of pilgrims on the outskirts of the Shiite-dominated northern neighbourhood of Shaab, said Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, Baghdad’s top military spokesman.A police official and Baghdad hospital officials said 41 died, including a number of women and children, and 106 were wounded. All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.Witnesses described a chaotic scene in the minutes following the blast.Raheem Kadhom, 35, was standing about 138 metres away when he says a huge fireball erupted among the pilgrims.Pilgrims were ‘on the ground, covered in blood and crying for help,’ he said. ‘Banners were all over the ground and covered in blood.’The blast was so powerful it knocked some out of their slippers and shoes, which were scattered across the ground, Khadhom said.Many ran to the aid of the pilgrims. Some put the wounded in cars, taking them to hospitals rather than wait from ambulances, Kadhom said.Despite an overall decline in violence in Iraq, al Qaeda and other Sunni extremists have routinely targeted pilgrims in an attempt to stoke sectarian strife and weaken the Shiite-dominated government. – Nampa-AP