In Baghdad, militants turned their attention to the country's Shiite majority. Three female suicide bombers blew themselves up over the course of an hour, targeting Shiite faithful on their way to a sacred shrine. At least 32 people were killed and 102 wounded. About a million Shiites were expected for the event commemorating the death in 799 of a religious leader regarded by Shiites as a saint.
The bombings happened in the Karada district, a prosperous commercial area. The U.S. Army said one of the bombers was a teenager.
U.S. military spokesman Col. Steven Boylan said the attacks showed how difficult it was to completely stop extremist groups such as Al Qaeda in Iraq. "We have degraded their abilities but they are by no means gone," Boylan said. "They are still capable of inflicting spectacular, horrific attacks."
Shiite pilgrim Wissam Abdullah said he had been trailing behind a group of women dressed in billowing dark abaya gowns when an explosion sent him flying. He was wounded in the leg.
At the hospital, he watched doctors frantically work on scores of patients. "The government should have prepared for such an event, as they happen repeatedly," Abdullah said.
The Iraqi security forces had hired about 200 women to search females around the city, knowing that Al Qaeda in Iraq and other extremist groups have increasingly turned to female suicide bombers. But with the number of people crowding the streets, it proved impossible to search everyone.
Many were stunned, thinking the bombings on Shiite holidays were a thing of the past. Ahmad Musawi, 28, started walking from southeast Baghdad after sunrise and brought female members of his family, thinking Baghdad was no longer dangerous.
"The explosions were against the innocent people who are not carrying any weapon with them. When this matter will end?" he said, recounting seeing several bodies.
"The government failed in securing the pilgrims so why they did not let us protect ourselves? We would have done better job [than] they did."
In 2005, nearly 1,000 people were killed in the single deadliest incident since the war began when rumors of a suicide bomber triggered a stampede among pilgrims.
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ned.parker@latimes.com
A Times correspondent in Kirkuk and staff writers Said Rifai, Saif Hameed and Saif Rasheed contributed to this report.
