Three Iraqi troops were killed Thursday when a suspected Islamic State militant detonated an explosive vest, state media reported, as security forces remain on high alert for sectarian attacks.
The soldiers were carrying out a raid on a suspected IS cell in the Tarmiya district north of the capital after receiving intelligence that the militants were planning to target Shiite Muslims making the annual pilgrimage to the shrine and burial site of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim in northern Baghdad, the state-run Iraqi News Agency reported.
Meanwhile, amid chilly temperatures and heavy security, thousands of black-clad pilgrims from across Iraq marched Thursday in the annual procession in marking the death of a Shiite saint. Tents were pitched along the kilometers of road that the pilgrims were walking Thursday, handing out food and water free of charge. Thousands of Iraqi security forces were deployed across the city to ensure the safety of the pilgrims, while some roads and bridges were closed to vehicles to allow pedestrian traffic only.
This year's pilgrimage takes place just ahead of the 20-year anniversary next month of the U.S. invasion of Iraq that led to the downfall of longtime dictator Saddam Hussein. Hussein had banned such pilgrimages from taking place.
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