1 Million Pilgrims Mourn Martyrdom of Imam Hadi (AS)
According to Al-Sumaria news, many of the pilgrims were on a visit to the holy city from different Iraqi provinces and many others from abroad.
A security source said units from the police, army and other security forces were in place to ensure security during the mourning ceremonies.
He added that a suicide bomber who intended to detonate a car bomb among the pilgrims was killed by security forces and his plot was foiled.
Meanwhile, at least ten Shia pilgrims were killed and several others wounded in terrorist attacks in northern Iraq.
Two of the attacks which were carried out near the city of Balad, north of the capital Baghdad, killed nine people and injured 20 others on Saturday.
One person was also killed and nine others wounded as several districts in the city of Samarra came under mortar fire.
Iraq is currently witnessing a wave of violence unprecedented in recent years.
Official figures show more than 1,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed and nearly 1,400 others wounded in violent attacks across Iraq in April.
The United Nations says nearly 9,000 people were killed in 2013.
Takfiri groups, including the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), are reportedly coming to Iraq from neighboring Syria and Saudi Arabia to undermine security in the country.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says Saudi Arabia and Qatar are responsible for the security crisis and growing terrorism in his country, denouncing the Al Saud regime as a major supporter of global terrorism.
