Two car bomb attacks targeting Shi’ite pilgrims killed at least 45 people and wounded another 150 in Iraq Thursday. The pilgrims were on their way to Kerbala to celebrate the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, a central figure in Shi’ite Islam who is believed to be buried there. Attacks against Shi’ites by Sunni groups hoping to undermine Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Shi’ite-led government will likely continue for the rest of the holy period, which ends on Tuesday. One hundred and twenty police and troops have been mobilized to protect worshipers making the journey.
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