Baghdad - A suicide bomb blast on Sunday killed 35 people and wounded 65 in the al-Kadhemiya area of northern Baghdad, with most of the victims Iranian pilgrims, the Voices of Iraq news agency reported, citing a security source.

The agency said the attack was carried out by a female suicide bomber. The woman wearing an explosives belt blew herself up at a joint army-police checkpoint in the al-Kadhemiya area, the source told the agency.

According to the source, most of the casualties were Iranian pilgrims who were among the many foreigners who had come to commemorate the Shia holy day of Ashoura.

The 10-day ritual aims at mourning the martyrdom of Imam Hussein Ibn Ali at the battle of Karbala.

Shiite pilgrims have been a repeated target of extremist Sunni Muslim groups operating in Iraq, mainly al-Qaeda, during their annual celebrations of religious events.

US and Iraqi authorities say al-Qaeda militants have increasingly relied on women to conduct suicide attacks, as they can better evade security searches and their clothing helps them to conceal explosive belts and vests. dpa