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More than a million Shi'ite pilgrims flocked to the Iraqi holy city of Kerbala on Wednesday (March 7) despite bombings that killed 16 people and scores of deaths in suicide attacks a day earlier. A car bomb in Saidiya in southern Baghdad killed seven pilgrims and a policeman, a police source said. Another seven pilgrims were killed by a roadside bomb and by gunmen in Doura in southern Baghdad, police sources said. One more was killed by gunmen in central Baghdad. Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched a U.S.-backed security crackdown last month that has had some success in reducing death squad killings blamed on Shi'ite militias. However, there has been no let-up in bombings, many of which are aimed against Shi'ite communities who say they need the militias to protect them from Sunni Arab insurgents. Fierce clashes erupted on Wednesday in southern Baghdad as Iraqi police fired on a group of gunmen who ambushed pilgrims on their way on foot to Kerbala. Witnesses said at least four pilgrims were wounded in the clashes. The attack occurred in the Doura area a day after a double suicide bombing in Hilla south of the capital killed 105 pilgrims on a busy street. It was one of a series of attacks on Tuesday in which almost 150 pilgrims were killed. Earlier on Wednesday, insurgents ambushed Shi'ite pilgrims in the same area, killing five and wounding 10, according to police. Maliki has called a regional meeting with Iraq's neighbours and world powers to enlist th...