Female Suicide Bomber Kills 41 Shiite Pilgrims in Baghdad

The attack, the latest in a string of violence in Iraq, also wounded at least 106, according to a senior Iraqi interior ministry official. The pilgrims had embarked on an annual walk to the southern city of Karbala as part of a Shiite Islamic commemoration that culminates Friday.

"A suicide attacker wearing a belt of explosives targeted pilgrims on the main road in Bab al-Sham district, northern Baghdad around 12:30 p.m.," the official said.

Hours later, another bomb went off in the capital's majority-Sunni neighborhood of Daura, the ministry said, injuring 12, with no fatalities.

The attacks are the latest in a series of large-scale bombings in and around Baghdad. On Jan. 25, bombers targeted three Baghdad hotels. The following day, a suicide car bomb detonated near an investigations directorate, part of the interior ministry.

The Islamic State of Iraq, an affiliate of the al Qaeda global terror network, claimed responsibility for the hotel attacks. No claims were made for the latest killings. Large-scale bombings targeting government buildings rocked Baghdad in August, October and December, killing hundreds and undermining public confidence in Iraqi security forces.