Bombing attack kills 12 Iraqi Shiites in Baghdad

At least 12 Iraqi Shiites were killed in blast that targeted a symbolic funeral procession of grandson of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) in Baghdad to mark Shiite religious occasion known as "Al-Arabaeen." A security source told KUNA that a booby-trapped car exploded near the funeral in a Rasala neighborhood, south of the Iraqi capital. The source added that at least 12 of the attendants were killed and dozens others were injured in the attack and were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment. Al-Arabaeen is a Shiite religious observance that occurs 40 days after the Day of Ashura. It commemorates the death of Hussein bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) which falls on the 20th day of the second month of the Islamic calendar. This year has been Iraq's most violent since 2006-07, when tens of thousands died in strife between Sunnis and Shiites. Hundreds of Iraqis were killed last month, figures from the United Nations and the Iraqi government has showed. The Iraqi government estimated the death tally of November violence at 950 (882 civilians, 52 policemen and 43 army personnel). It added that 1,349 were injured in the same months. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), however, estimated the number of causalities in November at 659 killed and another 1,373 wounded. The entire figure of civilians killed between January and November 2013 is 7,157 in addition to 952 Iraqi Security Forces. Tension runs high among Iraqi Shiites and Sunnis in the past months as wave of bombing attacks have recently targeted worship places and worshippers of both sects. Tension is also festering between the government of Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, a Shiite, and Iraqi Sunnis who accuse authorities of marginalizing and targeting their community, including through wrongful detentions and accusations of involvement in terrorism.