Karbala, Iraq. La festa dell'Ashura

(AP Photo/Ahmed al-Husseini)

24/12/2009 - A Shiite man holds ceremonial chains during the festival of Ashoura in Karbala, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi officials say several people have been killed and scores injured in staggered bombings apparently targeting pilgrims preparing for Shiite Islam’s most solemn holiday, which marks the seventh-century death of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussein.