BAGHDAD, Jan. 25 (Saba) -- Seven Shiite pilgrims were wounded by a roadside bomb explosion in east Baghdad on Tuesday, , Xinhua News has reported.

The attack took place after midday when the blast hit a minibus carrying Shiite pilgrims in al-Shaab neighborhood, a source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The pilgrims were returning to their homes after the major Shiite religious ceremony of Arbaeen in the city of Karbala, some 110 km southwest of Baghdad, the source said.

The attacks came when the major Shiite ritual of Arbaeen reaches its climax on Tuesday, as hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims observed the ceremony in the holy shrine city of Karbala.

Arbaeen is the end of 40 days of mourning for the Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson who was killed at the battle of Karbala in 680 A.D..



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