Twin Iraq bombs against Shias kill eight: Officials

KUT: Two near-simultaneous bombings against a Shia procession tent south of Baghdad killed at least eight people and wounded dozens on Thursday, officials said.

The violence comes during the peak of Ashura commemoration rituals that mark the death of a key figure in Shia Islam, when Sunni militants typically step up attacks on Iraq's majority community, whom they regard as apostates.

The attacks struck in the town of Hafriyah, in Wasit province south of Baghdad, as worshippers were gathering inside a tent where Shias were performing rituals to commemorate the death of Imam Hussein.

Hussein, grandson of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed, was killed by the armies of the caliph Yazid in 680 AD and his death in Karbala has come to symbolise the split between Islam's Sunni and Shia sects.

Millions of Shias from Iraq and around the world mark Ashura, which this year climaxes on Thursday, by setting up procession tents where food is distributed to passers-by and where pilgrims can gather.

Some two million people are expected to make the pilgrimage, many on foot, to the Iraqi city of Karbala, which is home to a shrine to Hussein.