Baghdad: The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for two bombings on Shiite pilgrims that left 23 people dead in Baghdad.
In a statement posted online late yesterday, the group said the car bomb attacks happened despite the tight security measures amid the Shiites' "biggest infidel event."
The two attacks targeted Shiite pilgrims and tents serving them on their way to the holy city of Karbala to mark the Ashoura religious holiday.
Ashoura commemorates the seventh-century death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad, and an iconic martyr among Shiite Muslims. Sunni insurgents frequently target Shiites, who they consider heretics.
Iraq is facing its greatest challenge since the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. Troops, as militants from the Islamic State group now control vast swaths of the country.
