BAGHDAD - A twin car bombing Friday targeted a crowd of Shi'ite pilgrims packing a highway as they walked to a holy city south of Baghdad for a major religious ceremony, killing at least 32 and wounding 154 people, Iraqi ministry officials said. The attack on the final and most important day of the Arbain festival was the third major strike this week against Shi'ite pilgrims amid a political furor over the banning of candidates, many of them Sunnis, from a March 7 election. Police said the bombings occurred on the outskirts of the city 80 km (50 miles) south of Baghdad. Details were sketchy as most officials were observing Arbain, which marks the end of 40 days of mourning for Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, who died in a 7th century battle at Kerbala. Overall violence in Iraq has fallen sharply, but Shi'ite gatherings remain a target for Sunni Islamist insurgents. Insurgents have also launched a series of coordinated suicide assaults on Baghdad since August aimed at undermining Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ahead of the election. Banned under Saddam Hussein, Arbain and other Shi'ite religious events have drawn millions of Shi'ites not just from Iraq but also from nearby countries like Iran since the Sunni dictator was ousted in the 2003 US invasion. A bomb planted on a cart pulled by a motorbike killed at least 20 pilgrims on Wednesday as they streamed into Kerbala. More than 40 were killed outside the capital on Monday as they began the long walk to Kerbala. The attacks added to sectarian tensions that have been rising as a result of an election ban imposed on almost 500 candidates suspected of links to Saddam's outlawed Baath party.Although the list contained more Shi'ite than Sunni politicians, many Sunnis believed it was aimed at preventing them from gaining a fair share of power in the election next month.
