2 suicide bombers killed in attempt to attack Shiite pilgrims in central Iraq

BAGHDAD, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Iraq security forces Wednesday killed two suicide bombers who attempted to attack Shiite pilgrims who were walking in large numbers to the holy Kadhimiyah shrine, the Iraqi military said.

Acting on intelligence reports, the Iraqi forces ambushed two militants wearing explosive belts in Tarmiyah area, some 40 km north of Baghdad, and opened fire on them, leaving one of the suicide bombers killed and forcing the other to detonate his explosive belt after wounding him, a statement from Baghdad Operations Command said.

The troops killed the two suicide bombers before they attempted to attack the pilgrims on the main road leading to Baghdad northern district of Kadhimiyah, the statement said.

The incident came as thousands of Shiite pilgrims were marching from Baghdad districts and from other Iraqi cities to the mausoleum of Imam Musa al-Kadhim in Baghdad's northern district of Kadhimiyah to commemorate the death of the seventh of the most revered 12 Shiite Imams.

Kadhim's tomb is in a golden-domed mosque in the center of the old part of the holy Shiite Kadhimiyah district.

The extremist insurgent groups, including Islamic State (IS) militant group, frequently attacked Shiite pilgrims who perform communal rituals in Iraqi cities, killing and wounding hundreds of them in the past years in attempts to provoke sectarian strife in the violence-shattered country. Enditem