16 people were killed and 45 others were wounded after a car bomb targeted an Ashura procession in central Iraq.

16 people were killed and 45 others were wounded after a car bomb targeted an Ashura procession in central Iraq, AFP quoted a doctor and a police officer as saying Monday.

The attack took place in the Neel area north of Hilla, which lies South of Baghdad.

"We received 16 bodies and 45 wounded," Dr. Mohammed Ali in Hilla hospital told AFP.

This comes ahead of preparations for Tuesday’s culmination of Ashura, which usually attracts millions of visitors of Imam Hussein’s shrine in the Holy city of Karbala to commemorate his martyrdom 1372 years ago.