Gruesome photographs show dozens of men using sharp knives attached to chains to whip their own backs
The men were marking Ashura which mourns the death of tge Prophet Muhammad's grandson in 680 AD
After performing the gory ritual, pools of blood can be seen on floor of the mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan
Separate photos show men performing the ritual in India with one cutting the head of a young child
Gruesome pictures show a man holding a knife to the head of a young child in Ahmadabad, India while others show boys whipping themselves with sharp blades.
In separate images, men can be seen crying out in pain as they use knives attached to chains to cut their own backs at a mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Pools of blood can be seen on the floor of the building after the men performed the ritual to mark Ashura - one of the major fixtures of the Islamic calendar.
Photographs of the event in Afghanistan show young men bleeding profusely from their backs. Afterwards they help each other wash away blood coming from their wounds.
The tradition is seen by some as a way of washing away their sins and is a national holiday in many countries with thousands taking part in the annual rituals.
A national holiday in many countries, thousands take part in the annual rituals which include people whipping and cutting themselves with chains and knives.
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.
That event lies at the heart of Islam's divide into Shiite and Sunni sects.
In recent years, there have been a spate of attacks on Ashura celebrations around the region by Sunni extremist groups which regard Shiites as heretics.
Some Shi'ite leaders discourage self-mutilation and bloodletting, claiming it has no basis in early religious history.
Others say it creates a negative image, and encourage people to donate blood instead.
Thousands of men perform the same brutal practice in Lebanon, Bangladesh, Iraq, Pakistan and Myanmar and even Athens, Greece.
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