At least 16 Shiite pilgrims were killed and some 75 others wounded in a stampede in the holy Shiite city of Karbala in south of Baghdad, spokesman of Iraqi Health Ministry said.

The incident took place in the afternoon during the major Shiite ritual of Ashura when thousands of Shiite pilgrims pushed into the entrance of Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala, some 110 km south of Baghdad.

Sayf al-Badr, the ministry spokesman, said in a statement that 16 people were killed and some 75 others wounded "in the stampede in Karbala, according to the reports."