The terrorist attack occurred when a gunman blew up his explosive laden belt in the middle of the procession in Diyala's western Gatoun district.
On Sunday morning, at least 17 people, including six policemen, lost their lives in a massive bomb explosion in Iraq's western province of Anbar.
The blast took place near the provincial council building in the provincial capital of Ramadi, 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. At least 23 people were also wounded in the attack.
Ramadi police discovered a second bomb within a few minutes in a nearby parking lot and managed to detonate it in a safe area.
Elsewhere, a police brigadier escaped an assassination attempt when a roadside bomb blew up near his motorcade in Ramadi, wounding two of his guards.
The violence comes days before the tenth day of Muharram, known as 'Ashura,' which marks the anniversary of the martyrdom of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson, Imam Hussein (PBUH).
Every year on Ashura, millions of Muslims all over the world hold mourning ceremonies and many from across Iraq and neighboring countries head for the holy city of Karbala, where the shrine of Imam Hussein (PBUH) is located.
Meanwhile, Iraqi police said they have arrested a total of 60 gunmen across Karbala who confessed to their plans for attacks on pilgrims to the holy city during the Ashura observance. Security forces also defused four improvised explosive devices on the Babil-Karbala highway and arrested 14 with weapons, mortars and explosives in their possession.
Iraq has deployed 30,000 police and security forces on all the ways leading to Karbala, which lies 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad.
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