Developments

A bomb killed five Shi'ite pilgrims in a procession in northeast Iraq yesterday and blasts in Baghdad killed two more pilgrims as millions of people marched to commemorate the most important Shi'ite religious observance. Pilgrims traveling to the southern holy city of Kerbala have come under repeated attack.

Some 20,000 members of Iraq's security forces formed cordons around Kerbala, vehicles were banned and 1,000 snipers were perched on the roofs of buildings.

An Iranian opposition website said four protesters, including Ali Mousavi, a nephew of former presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi, were killed when police opened fire yesterday in a second day of clashes in Teheran during observances of Ashura. The capital police chief denied reports of deaths.