At least 44 killed in attacks across Iraq

The violence followed 19 killings over the weekend,putting December on track to become one of the bloodiest months in five years.

Dozens of people were killed in a string of attacks across Iraq Monday,including a group of Shias who were pulled out of a bus and shot dead on the roadside while they were travelling to the capital to begin an annual religious pilgrimage,the police said.

The violence followed 19 killings over the weekend,putting December on track to become one of the bloodiest months in five years.

On Monday,12 Shia pilgrims heading to Baghdad from the northern city of Mosul were taken out of their bus and killed,the police said. The pilgrims were on their way to the capital to begin a procession on foot to the city of Karbala for Arbaeen,an annual commemoration of the 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein ibn Ali,a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

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Most Shias typically make pilgrimages to Karbala,where the imam is buried,and millions of people from throughout Iraq and other Muslim countries visit for the religious event,which has been the target of sectarian attacks in previous years.

In the northern province of Salahuddin on Monday,five suicide bombers attacked a police station,killing eight officers and wounding 10. Three other attackers clashed with security forces inside and killed.

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