1st LD: At least 15 killed in suicide bomb attack in Iraq's Baghdad

At least 15 people were killed and 45 others wounded on Saturday in a suicide bomb attack targeting a Shiite mourning in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a police source said.

A suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at a mourning tent in the crowded popular market of Shallal in the Shiite neighborhood of Shaab district in northeastern Baghdad, said the source on condition of anonymity.

The tent was set up for Shiite Muslims to commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, one of the Shiites' twelve most revered Imams, who was buried in Karbala, some 110 km south of Baghdad.

The Shiite Muslims used to observe the climax of their mourning on Ashura, which marks the death day of Imam Hussein, and will continue the ritual till the Arbaeen, or 40 days after the Imam's death.

The toll could rise as ambulances and civilian cars evacuated the killed and wounded people to several nearby hospitals and medical centers, the source said.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State (IS) militant group, in most cases, is responsible for such suicide attacks against Shiite pilgrims who perform communal rituals in Iraq, in an attempt to provoke sectarian strife in the violence-shattered country.

Terrorist acts, violence and armed conflicts killed 1,003 Iraqis and wounded 1,159 others in September across Iraq, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq said.

Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the IS, on the U.S., which invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003. Endit