2nd LD: 32 killed in suicide bomb attack in Iraq's Baghdad

The death toll from the suicide bomb attack, targeting Shiite mourning tent in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Saturday, rose to 32 and some 60 others wounded, a police source said.

"The latest report said that 32 people were killed and about 60 wounded in the suicide bomb attack at mourning tent in Baghdad's northeastern neighborhood of Shaab," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The attack occurred at noon when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at a mourning tent in the crowded popular market of Shallal in the Shiite neighborhood of Shaab, the source said.

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.

Earlier in the day, the source put the toll at 15 killed and 45 wounded by the blast.

The Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on Islamic websites, but the authenticity of the statement could not be independently verified.

In most cases, the IS group 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