Iraqi officials: Suicide car bombing kills 8 Shiite pilgrims returning from Samarra shrine
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Iraqi authorities say a suicide car bomb went off next to a crowd of Shiite pilgrims near the town of Balad as they were returning from the city of Samarra, killing eight and wounding 16.
Police and a local official in Balad said on Thursday that the attack happened overnight as the pilgrims were returning from a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Samarra is the burial site for two revered 9th century Shiite imams and on Wednesday, there was a ceremony marking the death of one of them.
The region north of Baghdad is predominantly Sunni and last year much of it was seized in a blitz by the extremist Islamic State group.