The attack comes a day after security forces in Baghdad foiled an attempted suicide bombing by killing the would-be attacker who was targeted Shia pilgrims visiting the south of Baghdad.
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The attack occurred Monday at a checkpoint along a route used by Shiite pilgrims in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of al-Shaab, marking the first attack on Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad during the beginning of Arbaeen, when pilgrims go to Karbala, according to ABC News.
One local official said the number of pilgrims who entered Iraq illegally at the Zurbatiya crossing had exceeded half a million.
The attacks came as the Iraqi security forces and allied paramilitary units, known as Hashd Shaabi, recaptured several areas on the edges of Ramadi as part of their offensive to surround the city and clear it later from IS militants.
No groups have claimed responsibility for the blasts.
Arbaeen marks 40 days after the Ashoura anniversary, commemorating the slaying of Imam Hussein by the armies of the caliph Yazid in 680 AD. Videos and photographs obtained by International Business Times show an Iraqi rapid reaction force dubbed “Roger” – with tanks and weapons seized in eastern Ramadi – on the outskirts of the city.
On Monday, Iraq’s military broadcast a statement that civilians should leave Ramadi, an ISIS-controlled city 70 miles west of Baghdad.
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Most of the recent focus on the fight against ISIS has been on Syria, but the war against the Islamic State group also continues to rage in neighboring Iraq. No further instructions or details were given.
