At least 31 dead, 100 more injured in stampede at major shrine in Iraq's KerbalaAt least 31 pilgrims were killed and 100 others sustained injuries in a stampede at a major shrine in Iraq on Tuesday, country's Health Ministry said, as cited by Sputnik.
Thousands of pilgrims swarm Karbala every year on the day of Ashoura, one of the most sacred religious holy days for Shiite Muslims.
Ashoura commemorates the killing of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein, by a rival Muslim faction in Iraq, in 680 AD.
Many of the worshippers beat their chests and lash themselves with chains in an expression of grief and regret for not being able to help the murdered grandson of the Prophet.