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WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Young Shia Muslim girl looks lost as her head is held still in preparation for the knife in the Ashura festival

Other pictures show men and boys covered in blood after slashing themselves with razorblades and knives

The tradition of blood-letting in the run up to Ashura is seen by some as a way of washing away their sins

As a child cries in the background covered in blood, this young girl is preparing to feel a blade slice open her skin.

The young Shia Muslim was taking part in a ceremony to mark the Muslim festival of Ashura, which mourns the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.

It is marked by 10 days of mourning, in which many devotees whip and cut themselves with chains and knives and some drive knives into their scalps and is seen as a way of washing away their sins.

The pictures above were taken in Chennai during the mourning procession on the tenth day of Muharram, which marks the day of Ashura.

Ashura mourns the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, who was killed by armies of the Yazid near Karbala in 680 AD.

In the picture of the girl with the knife held to her head, a child can be seen in the background.

The youngster is sucking a dummy, with a blood-smeared forehead and clearly distressed.

Other photographs taken today show young boys are paraded down the street as they slap their claret-stained chests in an act of flagellation.

The act of punishing oneself is part of the Muslim festival, and as the women line the streets beating their chests, topless men and boys whip themselves with knives and razorblades leaving to give themselves nasty back wounds.

In one particularly disturbing photo, a man wearing a blood-splattered shirt has sliced a huge gash in the top of his head and appears to be slapping it.

The religious festival is celebrated widely in and in Baghdad yesterday a blood-stained Shiite boy clutching a huge knife joined his young friends in the bloody ceremony.

Iraq saw some of the goriest scenes, with huge groups of blood-drenched men flooding the cities' streets.

And the ritual is not exclusive to Asia either.

In Piraeus port near Athens in Greece, the Ashoura festival was in full flow today.

Topless men roamed the streets with huge knives and over-sized razorblades to take chunks out of their own backs for their religion.

More than 6,000 Muslim shiites, including citizens and refugees, live in the country.

They pray at four makeshift mosques, according to the Shiites Muslim Association of Greece.

The festival of Ashura falls each year on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar year, and mourns the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, who was killed by armies of the Yazid near the Iraqi city of Karbala in 680 AD.

The sombre festival, which commemorates Imam Hussein's martyrdom, is marked with ten days of mourning, with religious Muharram processions taking place, in which many devotees whip and cut themselves with chains and knives.

In a similar procession yesterday in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, medics were on hand to stitch men's wounds back together after they but their backs during the self-flagellation parade.

It's not just men and boys who are subjected to the religious ritual, with girls, women and even babies in Lebanon forced to shed blood in the name of Allah.

Ashura will be marked today across the globe, though the festival began for observant Muslims at sunset yesterday, and in some countries the day before is also a public holiday.

The tradition of blood-letting in the run up to Ashura is seen by some as a way of washing away their sins, but the practice has stirred controversy with some religious leaders saying it has no basis in Islamic history and creates a negative image, encouraging people to donate blood instead.

The way the event is marked lies at the heart of the divide between Islam's Shia and Sunni sects, and in recent years, there have been a spate of attacks on Ashura celebrations by Sunni extremist groups who regard Shiites as heretics.

On Sunday gruesome pictures emerged showing a man holding a knife to the head of a young boy in Ahmadabad, India where boys were also pictured whipping themselves with sharp blades.

Pictures from Kabul, Afghanistan also showed men crying out in pain as they used knives attached to chains to cut their own backs at a mosque.

Other photographs, taken in Myanmar yesterday, show devotees in the capital of Yangoon walking across hot coals to mark the Muslim festival.

Ashura is one of the major fixtures of the Islamic calendar, and thousands of men perform the same brutal practice around the world in countries including Lebanon, Bangladesh, Iraq, Pakistan and Myanmar and even in Greece.

Afterwards opening up large that pour with blood, often on their backs, devotees help each other to wash their wounds clean.

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Little girl prepares to have her scalp slashed open in Islamic ritual

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WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT Young Shia Muslim girl looks lost as her head is held still in preparation for the knife in the Ashura festival Other pictures show men and boys covered in blood after slashing themselves with razorblades and knives The tradition of blood-letting in the run up to Ashura is seen by some as a way of washing away their sins As a child cries in the background covered in blood, this young girl is preparing to feel a blade slice open her skin.

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Muslims have begun celebrating the religious festival of Ashura, with some Shia men flagellating themselves to commemorate the martyrdom of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.

The day falls each year on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar. This year, it corresponds with Tuesday 11 October, though the festival begins for observant Muslims at sunset on Monday, and in some countries the day before is also a public holiday.

Ashura is marked by all Muslims, and commemorations can include a voluntary fast.

But the day is a major part of the religious calendar for Shia Muslims, for whom it is a solemn occasion to mourn the death of Hussein in 680 AD at Karbala in modern-day Iraq.

Though the self-flagellation aspect of events marking the day has become best-known, observing Muslims also conduct reenactments of the martyrdom of Hussein and take part in parades and displays of fire-spinning.

Inevitably, the self-flagellation has been a cause for some controversy. Some religious leaders say the graphic scenes that result tend to paint Shia Muslims in a backward or negative light.

And there has been an effort in recent years to channel the annual blood-letting into a more constructive and progressive practice. Some leaders have suggested marking the day by donating blood.

The killing of Hussein was the event that led to the schism in Islam between Sunni and Shia Muslims, and as such the day also raises heightened security concerns for violence.

On Saturday, an Egyptian national driving a garbage truck loaded with explosives and Islamic State papers rammed into a truck carrying five US soldiers in Kuwait, injuring only himself after his bombs apparently failed to detonate.

The Kuwaiti authorities had previously warned that they would be increasing security measures in the lead up to Ashura. None of the soldiers were injured in the attack, while the alleged assailant is being treated in hospital.

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Self-flagellation begins as Islamic world marks Ashura festival

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Muslims have begun celebrating the religious festival of Ashura, with some Shia men flagellating themselves to commemorate the martyrdom of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed. The day falls each year on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar.

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WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

Young Shia Muslim girl looks lost as her head is held still in preparation for the knife in the Ashura festival

Other pictures show men and boys covered in blood after slashing themselves with razorblades and knives

The tradition of blood-letting in the run up to Ashura is seen by some as a way of washing away their sins

As a child cries in the background covered in blood, this young girl is preparing to feel a blade slice open her skin.

The young Shia Muslim was taking part in a ceremony to mark the Muslim festival of Ashura, which mourns the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.

It is marked by 10 days of mourning, in which many devotees whip and cut themselves with chains and knives and some drive knives into their scalps and is seen as a way of washing away their sins.

The pictures above were taken in Chennai during the mourning procession on the tenth day of Muharram, which marks the day of Ashura.

Ashura mourns the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, who was killed by armies of the Yazid near Karbala in 680 AD.

In the picture of the girl with the knife held to her head, a child can be seen in the background.

The youngster is sucking a dummy, with a blood-smeared forehead and clearly distressed.

Other photographs taken today show young boys are paraded down the street as they slap their claret-stained chests in an act of flagellation.

The act of punishing oneself is part of the Muslim festival, and as the women line the streets beating their chests, topless men and boys whip themselves with knives and razorblades leaving to give themselves nasty back wounds.

In one particularly disturbing photo, a man wearing a blood-splattered shirt has sliced a huge gash in the top of his head and appears to be slapping it.

The religious festival is celebrated widely in and in Baghdad yesterday a blood-stained Shiite boy clutching a huge knife joined his young friends in the bloody ceremony.

Iraq saw some of the goriest scenes, with huge groups of blood-drenched men flooding the cities' streets.

And the ritual is not exclusive to Asia either.

In Piraeus port near Athens in Greece, the Ashoura festival was in full flow today.

Topless men roamed the streets with huge knives and over-sized razorblades to take chunks out of their own backs for their religion.

More than 6,000 Muslim shiites, including citizens and refugees, live in the country.

They pray at four makeshift mosques, according to the Shiites Muslim Association of Greece.

The festival of Ashura falls each year on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar year, and mourns the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, who was killed by armies of the Yazid near the Iraqi city of Karbala in 680 AD.

The sombre festival, which commemorates Imam Hussein's martyrdom, is marked with ten days of mourning, with religious Muharram processions taking place, in which many devotees whip and cut themselves with chains and knives.

In a similar procession yesterday in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, medics were on hand to stitch men's wounds back together after they but their backs during the self-flagellation parade.

It's not just men and boys who are subjected to the religious ritual, with girls, women and even babies in Lebanon forced to shed blood in the name of Allah.

Ashura will be marked today across the globe, though the festival began for observant Muslims at sunset yesterday, and in some countries the day before is also a public holiday.

The tradition of blood-letting in the run up to Ashura is seen by some as a way of washing away their sins, but the practice has stirred controversy with some religious leaders saying it has no basis in Islamic history and creates a negative image, encouraging people to donate blood instead.

The way the event is marked lies at the heart of the divide between Islam's Shia and Sunni sects, and in recent years, there have been a spate of attacks on Ashura celebrations by Sunni extremist groups who regard Shiites as heretics.

On Sunday gruesome pictures emerged showing a man holding a knife to the head of a young boy in Ahmadabad, India where boys were also pictured whipping themselves with sharp blades.

Pictures from Kabul, Afghanistan also showed men crying out in pain as they used knives attached to chains to cut their own backs at a mosque.

Other photographs, taken in Myanmar yesterday, show devotees in the capital of Yangoon walking across hot coals to mark the Muslim festival.

Ashura is one of the major fixtures of the Islamic calendar, and thousands of men perform the same brutal practice around the world in countries including Lebanon, Bangladesh, Iraq, Pakistan and Myanmar and even in Greece.

Afterwards opening up large that pour with blood, often on their backs, devotees help each other to wash their wounds clean.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Little girl prepares to have her scalp slashed open in Islamic ritual

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT Young Shia Muslim girl looks lost as her head is held still in preparation for the knife in the Ashura festival Other pictures show men and boys covered in blood after slashing themselves with razorblades and knives The tradition of blood-letting in the run up to Ashura is seen by some as a way of washing away their sins As a child cries in the background covered in blood, this young girl is preparing to feel a blade slice open her skin.