A female suicide b****er has killed 32 people and wounded 84 others in Iraq.

Most of the victims of the attack in Iskandariya, which lies 30 miles south of Baghdad, are believed to be women and children.

The atrocity happened as Shia pilgrims flocked to a religious festival.

The attack comes a day after a b**** killed eight people in the holy city of Kerbala in the south of the country.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims are heading to the city to mark Arbain, one of the most important dates in the Shia religious calendar.