Scores injured as Shia pilgrims stampede in Baghdad

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD (AA) – Scores of Shia pilgrims were injured in a stampede in Baghdad on Sunday, panicked by rumors a suicide bomber was about to blow himself up, according to an Iraqi police officer.

A visitor began to tear his clothes in Kadhimiya area in northern Baghdad after losing his daughter in the crowd, making the pilgrims believe he was a bomber trying to detonate his explosive vest, Police Captain Ahmed Khalaf told Anadolu Agency.

"Scores of people, including children and elders, were injured in the stampede," he said.

Khalaf said Iraqi forces have managed to control the situation.

In 2005, more than 1,000 people were killed in a deadly stampede in Baghdad after rumors about a suicide bomber in the area.