At least 51 people were killed and 107 others injured in a major bomb attack targeting Shia pilgrims in the north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad late on Saturday, Xinhua reported.
The bombing took place in the Adhamiyah area as Shia Muslims were on their way to a prominent shrine in the nearby Kadhimiya neighborhood.
There were conflicting reports about the death toll.
The pilgrims were marking the anniversary of Imam Javad (AS), the ninth Imam of Shia Muslims.
Meanwhile, more than 10 people were killed and 35 others wounded after a car bomb exploded near a cafe in the town of Balad, about 80 kilometers north of the capital.
Also in Iraq's northern city of Mosul, unidentified gunmen shot dead al-Sharqiya television’s correspondent, Mohammed Karim al-Badrani, and cameraman, Mohammed Ghanem.
Elsewhere in the country, violence took a number of lives and caused injuries.
According to the United Nations, almost 1,000 people were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded in violence in Iraq in September, making it one of the deadliest months in recent years.
Iraq’s Interior Ministry has said that militants have launched an open war in Iraq and they want to push the Middle Eastern country into chaos.
BA/BA