Suicide bomber kills 41 Shi'ite pilgrims in Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber blew herself up on Monday among Shi'ite pilgrims on the outskirts of Iraq's capital, killing at least 41 people in the latest attack in a violent run-up to next month's election.

Iraq is trying to leave behind years of warfare set off by the 2003 U.S. invasion as it moves to cement security gains made in the last two years, prepare for a U.S. withdrawal and revamp an oil sector that gives Iraq nearly all of its revenues.

But Shi'ite gatherings remain a frequent target for Sunni Islamists such as al Qaeda, seeking to reignite the sectarian slaughter that peaked in 2006-07, while recent months have also seen major coordinated assaults by suicide bombers on Baghdad.

An interior ministry source and a police official said 41 people had been killed and 106 wounded in Monday's attack in a tent where pilgrims on an arduous religious trek are provided with food and drink.

"People were serving food to the pilgrims. A woman wrapped in an explosives belt went inside the tent and killed and wounded (many people) and children," said pilgrim Sahib, who was near the tent.

The office of Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim al-Moussawi said that the bombing occurred in a crowd and that 19 people were killed, with 80 wounded.

Several hours later a roadside bomb in southern Baghdad wounded 12 pilgrims, an interior ministry source said.

The attacks took place as the nation gears up for a March election when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is expected to run on improved security and on oil deals that may vault Iraq into the world's top three crude exporters, from 11th currently.

Thousands of Shi'ites have flooded the streets for the start of a long walk to the southern city of Kerbala, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad, for the religious rite of Arbain.

More violence is likely during the Arbain religious period and before the election as suspected Sunni Islamist groups try to undermine Maliki's Shi'ite-led government.

On January 25, suicide bombers attacked three hotels in the Iraqi capital, killing more than 30 people.

The coordinated assault was similar to attacks on December 8, October 25 and August 19 last year in which hundreds died, and U.S. military leaders say they appeared aimed at undermining public faith in the security forces and in Maliki.

Last year, a suicide bomber killed 39 pilgrims during the Arbain pilgrimage. Sectarian carnage escalated after the destruction of a revered golden domed Shi'ite mosque in Samarra, 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad, in February 2006.

Millions of Shi'ites from Iraq, Iran, Bahrain and other nations have defied the threat of suicide bombings since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion toppled the Sunni-led government of Saddam Hussein to visit Iraq's Shi'ite holy sites.

Arbain marks 40 days of mourning for Hussein, the Prophet Mohammad's grandson, who died in a seventh century battle at Kerbala. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, beating their heads and chests in ritual mourning, pour into the city for the rite.

Many walk from hundreds of kilometers (miles) away. Arbain was once suppressed like other Shi'ite gatherings under Saddam.

Tens of thousands of troops and police have been deployed to protect pilgrims and also around the Imam Hussein shrine in Kerbala. But suspected Sunni Islamist extremists, who view Shi'ite Muslims as apostates, still manage to get through.

(Additional reporting by Khalid al-Ansary; Writing by Michael Christie and Jack Kimball; Editing by Louise Ireland)