A bomb inside a parked car in Baghdad on May 2 killed 13 Shi’ite pilgrims who were commemorating the death anniversary of a revered imam.
There was no immediate claim for responsibility for the attack in Baghdad’s southwestern Saydiyah neighborhood, but it bore the hallmarks of extremists who call themselves Islamic State.
Tens of thousands of Shi'ite faithful have been making their way during the past week to the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Kadhimiyah, where the 8th-century Imam Moussa al-Kadhim is buried.
Security forces have blocked major roads in Baghdad in anticipation of attacks against pilgrims who traditionally travel on foot from different parts of Iraq.