1st LD: 6 suicide bombers, 6 people killed in clashes near Iraq's Karbala

The Iraqi security forces on Monday killed six suicide bombers who tried to carry out attacks in a town near the holy Shiite city of Karbala in central Iraq, leaving six people killed, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.

The attack occurred in the morning in the town of Ain al-Tamur, some 80 m west of Karbala, when the security forces spotted six suicide bombers and clashed with them before reaching their targets, killing five of them, Brigadier General Saad Maan said in a press release.

The troops chased the sixth suicide bomber and surrounded him after he entered a house in the town, prompting the attacker to detonate his explosive vest inside, Maan said.

Six civilians were also killed and six others wounded by the clashes and explosions, Maan added.

The attacks occurred as the Shiite Muslims are preparing to commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, one of the Shiites' twelve most revered Imams, who was killed in 680 AD. and buried in Karbala, some 110 km south of Baghdad.

The Shiite Muslims had already observed the death day of Imam Hussein on October 12, in a ritual named Ashura Day, but they usually continue their mourning till the ritual of al-Arbaeen, or 40 days after the Imam's death which will take place on November 21.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the Islamic State (IS) militant group, in most cases, is responsible for deadly attacks against Shiite Muslims 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 1,792 Iraqis and wounded 1,358 others in October 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