Iran bans nationals' pilgrimages to Iraq

TEHRAN, April 24 (UPI) -- Iranian nationals are banned from pilgrimages to Iraqi holy sites through the Khosrawi border, said an Iranian tourist organization Friday.

Reza Moussavi, spokesman for Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, told the Islamic Republic News Agency the ban will be in effect until further notice because of bombings and attacks in Iraq that have killed Iranian citizens.

One bombing in Iraq's Diyala province Thursday claimed the lives of 47 people, including 45 Iranian nationals, while injuring 70 others, most of them Iranians.

Similar attacks took place Friday in Kadhimiya, where a large number of pilgrims had gathered to visit holy shrines of the Shiites' 7th and 9th Imams.

IRNA said two suicide bombers attacked Imam Moussa Kazem's shrine in Baghdad Friday. Details regarding that attack were not available.