By SINAN SALAHEDDIN
Iraqi Shiite faithful worshippers re-enact the seventh century battle of Karbala during the festival of Ashoura in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. The festival of Ashoura commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad at the Battle of Karbala, Iraq, in the year 680 A.D. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
Mideast Iraq Ashoura
Iraqi Shiite faithful worshippers re-enact the seventh century battle of Karbala during the festival of Ashoura in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. The festival of Ashoura commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad at the Battle of Karbala, Iraq, in the year 680 A.D. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
Mideast Iraq Ashoura
Iraqi Shiite faithful worshippers re-enact the seventh century battle of Karbala during the festival of Ashoura in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. The festival of Ashoura commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad at the Battle of Karbala, Iraq, in the year 680 A.D. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
Mideast Iraq Ashoura
Iraqi Shiite faithful worshippers re-enact the seventh century battle of Karbala during the festival of Ashoura in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. The festival of Ashoura commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad at the Battle of Karbala, Iraq, in the year 680 A.D. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
APTOPIX Mideast Iraq
Shiite faithful worshippers gather between the holy shrines of Imam Abbas and Imam Hussein, seen in the background, during Muharram, an important period of mourning for Shiites in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. The remembrance of Muharram marks the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala when Imam Hussein, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was killed. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Mideast Iraq
Shiite faithful worshippers beat themselves with chains as a sign of grief for Imam Hussein during “Muharram,” an important period of mourning for Shiites, standing between the holy shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas, seen in the background, in Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. The remembrance of Muharram marks the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala when Imam Hussein, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was killed. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Mideast Iraq
Shiite faithful worshippers beat themselves as a sign of grief for Imam Hussein during “Muharram,” an important period of mourning for Shiites, standing between the holy shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas, seen in the background, in Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. The remembrance of Muharram marks the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala when Imam Hussein, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was killed. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
APTOPIX Mideast Iraq
Iraqi Shiite faithful worshippers cut themselves with knives during Muharram, marking the anniversary of the 7th century death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam’s founding prophet Muhammad, in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. The remembrance of Muharram marks the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala when Imam Hussein, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was killed. (AP Photo/Jaber al-Helo)
Mideast Iraq
Shiite faithful worshippers beat themselves as a sign of grief for Imam Hussein during “Muharram,” an important period of mourning for Shiites, standing between the holy shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas, seen in the background, in Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. The remembrance of Muharram marks the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala when Imam Hussein, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was killed. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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BAGHDAD (AP) — A suicide attacker and twin bomb blasts on Thursday targeted Shiites marking a somber religious ritual in Iraq, killing at least 41 people and wounding more than 100, officials said.
The ritual, known as Ashoura, is observed every year over a 10-day period and has been marred previously by massive attacks by al-Qaida and other Sunni extremists who see Shiites as heretics. This year, the attacks come amid an escalating campaign of violence by insurgents seeking to thwart the Shiite-led government’s efforts to maintain security.
The deadliest of Thursday’s attacks was in the town of al-Saadiyah, 140 kilometers (90 miles) northeast of Baghdad, where a suicide bomber struck a group of Shiites gathered for an Ashoura event. The explosion killed at least 32 people and wounded 75, two police officers said.
The Shiites at the Saadiyah gathering were recreating the 7th century battle of Karbala, a city in present-day Iraq. Ashoura commemorates the death of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein, in that battle.
Earlier Thursday, two bombs exploded simultaneously near tents set up to offer food and drinks to Shiites pilgrims passing through Hafriyah, a town about 50 kilometers (32 miles) south of the Iraqi capital, another police officer said.
The Shiites were making their way on foot to Hussein’s gold-domed shrine in Karbala, some 90 kilometers (55 miles) south of Baghdad, where authorities said more than two million pilgrims were expected to converge Thursday.
Ashoura attracts hundreds of thousands of Shiites to holy sites across Iraq. Security forces have imposed tight security measures in and around Karbala, as well as other Shiite cities and Baghdad, sealing off areas where the Shiites, most of them dressed in black, passed through or stopped to rest.
Some Shiites in the processions ritually whipped their bodies with chains and knives in grief, drenching themselves in blood, which is part of Ashoura.
On Tuesday, triple bombings struck a group of Shiites marking Ashoura in the eastern city of Baqouba, a former al-Qaida stronghold, 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad, killing eight people, including two children, and wounding 35.
Iraq has been hit by a surge in violence and insurgent attacks since April, when security forces cracked down on a Sunni protest camp in the north. The pace of the killings has soared to levels not seen since 2008.
More than 5,500 people died since April, according to United Nations figures. Thursday’s attacks bring the death toll across the country this month to 176, according to an Associated Press count.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attacks, but suicide attacks and other bombings — especially against Shiites and Iraqi forces — are a favorite tactic of al-Qaida’s local branch.
