ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — One person has died in an explosion near Baghdad's al-Aimmah bridge, Iraq's Security Media Cell announced early Tuesday. Three others are in critical condition.
The explosion comes the same day Pope Francis left Baghdad after a historic three-day visit to Iraq.
The cell said the explosion in the Iraqi capital was due to a hand grenade detonating in a garbage dump near the bridge.
The explosion was also reported by Telegram channels linked to the Popular Mobilization Forces, (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic), an umbrella network of Shiite militias.
Iraq's intelligence agency said it had arrested three members of a terror cell earlier in the day who were planning a suicide attack on pilgrims of Imam al-Kadhim, whose tomb is found at the nearby al-Kadhimiya mosque.
Shiites from around the world come to Iraq every year to visit its many Shiite shrines and holy places, including the tombs of Imam al-Kadhim and his grandson Mohammed al-Jawad, two of Shiite Islam’s most revered figures.
Baghdad's Operation Command said the pilgrims will continue their annual march to the mosque.
Prime Minister Mustafa Kahdimi early on Tuesday morning chaired a meeting with Baghdad Operations Command attended by a number of security and military officials, to follow up on the implementation of security measures to ensure the security of visitors and ensure the ceremony’s continuance.
Updated at 8:26 am on Tuesday
