Kadhimiya, Baghdad, Iraq

(EPA/SHEHAB AHMED)

A Shi’ite pilgrim flagellates himself with dagger to show religious devotion, during the annual ritual marking Ashura Day, in the Shiite holy city of Kadhimiya in Baghdad, Iraq on 27 December 2009. Shiite Muslims over the world observe Moharam, the first month of Lunar calendar, to mark the death of Imam Husain, grandson of Prophet Mohammad who died along with 72 companions on the battlefield of Karbala Iraq, some 1,400 years ago.