A suicide bomb attack was reportedly carried out amid a crowd of Shiite Muslim pilgrims south of Baghdad, Agence France-Presse informed.

According to the local police, the suicide bomber caused the death of at least 40 Muslim pilgrims. The group of pilgrims was at a residential building in the town of Iskandiriyah and on their way to the holy city of Karbala to attend the Shiite ceremony of Arbaeen.

The ceremony of Arbaeen commemorates the 40 days following the anniversary of the martyrdom of Immam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, by armies of the Sunni caliph Yazid in a battle in 680.

The Baghdad police said there were also at least 60 people wounded in the attack which took place in Iskandariyah Sunday, south of Iraq’s capital. At least 25 of those wounded were seriously injured.

"At around 3:00 pm, when pilgrims were eating their lunch inside the tent, a bomber blew himself up amid the crowd," said said Karim Al-Tamimi, a police lieutenant from the province of Babil, AFP reported.

Just a few hours earlier, another attack was reported in Baghdad. The attack whit explosives and gunfire also targeted Shiite pilgrims.

Authorities expect millions of pilgrims to attend the commemoration. The Karbala police chief said he ordered the deployment of 40,000 police officers and troops to secure the city.

Sunni militants are suspected for carrying out the suicide attack. The militant often attacked Shi'ite religious observances.

According to the US military approximately 42,000 pilgrims had traveled through the area on Sunday.