Iraq car bomb kills seven Shiite pilgrims, including Pakistanis

At least seven pilgrims from Iran and Pakistan were martyred in Iraq on Saturday when an explosives-laden car detonated as they were exiting a rest stop north of Baghdad, police and hospital sources said.
The attack took place a few days ago into the holy month of Ashura marking the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (as) and his companions, grandson of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh).
Police said a parked car blew up near a restaurant on the outskirts of Balad, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, killing the Shiite pilgrims, who were travelling back to the capital from the holy city of Samarra.
Almost one year after the last U.S. troops left Iraq, al Qaeda’s local wing has vowed to revive attacks in an attempt to reignite the kind of sectarian violence that drove the country to the edge of civil war four years ago. Such attacks have often increased during Ashura, when Muslims commemorate the martyrdom of the Prophet’s grandson Imam Hussein.
The health official says some 30 other people were wounded in Saturday’s blast in the town of Balad, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Baghdad. He says the wounded were Shiite pilgrims from Iraq, Iran and Pakistan.
Shiite pilgrims are often targeted by Sunni extremists who claim they aren’t true Muslims. Attacks typically increase this time of year, when Shiites mourn the seventh-century killing of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, the Imam Hussein.