At least 31 die during stampede at Ashura rituals in Iraq's Kerbala

Iraqi Shi'ite Muslims burn a tent as they re-enact a scene from the 7th century battle of Kerbala during a ceremony marking Ashura in the holy city of Kerbala, Iraq, September 10, 2019. REUTERS/Abdullah Dhiaa Al-Deen

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 31 people died and another 100 were wounded on Tuesday during the Shi'ite Muslim religious rituals of Ashura in Iraq's southern holy city of Kerbala, in what an official at its Imam Hussein shrine described as a stampede.

The death toll released by the Iraqi Health Ministry was expected to rise, with at least 10 people in critical condition. The ministry did not disclose how they had been killed but the shrine official told Reuters the stampede took place at the entrance to the ornate building.