At least 41 people have been killed and 106 injured by a female suicide bomber in Baghdad, Aljazeera news agency, citing the Iraqi interior ministry, said on Monday.

The woman wearing an explosive vest blew herself up at 11:45 local time [08:45 GMT] among a group of pilgrims who were making a journey to Karbala, 80 km southwest of Baghdad, Major-General Qassim Atta, the spokesman for the Baghdad operational command, said.

Hundreds of thousands of Shia Muslims were marking the religious observation of Arbaeen, the end of 40 days of mourning after the Day of Ashura, the commemoration of the martyrdom of Hussein bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

Last year, 40 people were killed and 60 injured in a similar attack near Baghdad, blamed on Sunni extremists.

Monday's attack comes ahead of parliamentary elections due in March.

MOSCOW, February 1 (RIA Novosti)