Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi, in a statement on Tuesday, offered condolences with the Iraqi government and nation, especially the families of the deceased pilgrims and wished speedy recovery for tens of people wounded in this tragic incident, Mehr News Agency reported.

At least 31 pilgrims lost their lives and dozens more sustained injuries in a stampede during the Muslim religious rituals of Ashura in the Iraqi city of Karbala.

The toll could rise further, as another 100 pilgrims were injured, including 10 in critical condition.

Ashura is the 10th day of the lunar month of Muharram and is the day when the third Shia Imam and the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Imam Hussein (PBUH), and 72 of his companions were martyred in Karbala, in southern Iraq, in 680 AD by the army of the Umayyad caliph, Yazid I.

Hundreds of thousands of Shia pilgrims swarm Karbala in Iraq every year on Ashura to participate in the rituals at the shrine of Imam Hussein (PBUH) to commemorate his martyrdom.

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