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31 pilgrims die in stampede during Ashoura in Iraq

Baghdad - Earlier in the day, hundreds of thousands held Ashoura processions amid beefed-up security in Karbala.

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Part of a walkway collapsed as tens of thousands of people commemorated Ashoura on Tuesday, causing a stampede and killing at least 31 pilgrims on one of the most sacred religious days, officials said.
Around 100 others were injured in the incident, which occurred toward the end of the Ashoura procession, causing a panicked rush, according to two officials who spoke to The Associated Press from Karbala.
Hundreds of thousands of people converge on the holy city, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad, for the occasion every year.
The incident took place during the so-called "Tweireej" run, when tens of thousands of people run toward the shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala around noon.
Earlier in the day, hundreds of thousands held Ashoura processions amid beefed-up security in Karbala and in the capital, Baghdad, marching through the streets.
On Sunday night, thousands marched toward the shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala, which had been lit up on the eve of the commemoration.
 

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