The Iraqi police have foiled a major bombing plot in Baghdad, where 18 dolls stuffed with bombs were seized by the security forces, which were meant to be scattered on the roads leading to Karbala during Arbaeen - a Shia Muslim religious observance.

Arbaeen, which this year will be held on December 3, is a Shia religious observance that occurs forty days after the Day of Ashura to commemorate the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad.

During Arbaeen at least 20 million people walk to the city of Karbala in Iraq, making it one of the largest pilgrimage gatherings on Earth.

The booby-trapped bombs were discovered by the security forces in al-Husseiniya - a predominantly Shiite suburb in northeastern Baghdad, Kuwait News agency (KUNA) reported.

According to Press TV, Isis was planning to plant the bomb on a roads towards Karbala from Baghdad.

The explosive-laden dolls were later dismantled and destroyed. At least 26 people were killed and dozens were injured on 13 November, after two Isis bombings in Baghdad.

Twenty-one people were killed after an Isis suicide bomber struck a funeral procession for a Shiite militia fighter killed in the Baghdad suburb of Hay al-Amal.The same day a roadside bomb planted near a Shiite shrine in Sadr City, killed at least five people and injured 15, New York Times had reported.