800 Iraqi pilgrims killed in stampede

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Word spread like mortar fire among the thousands of Shiite pilgrims crossing a Baghdad bridge that a suicide attacker was in their midst.

The religious procession to honor the death of an 8th-century saint suddenly became a stampede.

The panicked pilgrims trampled one another, and many were crushed against barricades. Others were pushed or plunged 30 feet into the muddy Tigris River. Police were unable to cope.

About 800 died, mostly women and children, officials said -- the single biggest loss of life known in Iraq since the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

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