Screaming baby cries as a relative slices its head open with a kitchen knife as part of Islamic self-flagellation ceremony to mourn the death of the Prophet's grandson 

A man holds a knife to a baby's head as he cuts the child during a Muharram procession in Ahmadabad, India

A Kashmiri Shiite Muslim boy flagellates himself during a Muharram procession in Srinagar in Indian controlled Kashmir

Gory: Shiite Muslims in Afghanistan have gathered to perform self-flagellation rituals as they mourn the death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson 1,300 years ago

Pain: Gruesome pictures show men crying out in pain as they use knives attached to chains to whip their own backs at a mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan

Tradition: 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

Ritual: Photographs of the event show young men, bleeding profusely from their backs, while afterwards they help each other wash away blood coming from their wounds

Sharp: Even very small children swing the sharp blades on the end of chains, slashing their skin in the brutal ritual

Kashmiri Shiite Muslims flagellate themselves as they take part in a religious procession held on the seventh day of Islamic month of Muharram, in Srinagar

Even teenagers and young children take part in the bloody ritual. These photos show boys self-flagellating in India

Kashmiri Shiite Muslim children flagellate themselves as they mourn the death of Imam Husain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad

Graphic pictures show the men swinging chains with knives attached over their shoulders as part of the bloody ritual

Crowds of people watch the Kashmiri Shiite Muslims carry out the ritual in the streets of Srinagar, India

After the ritual in Srinagar, men crouched down to display the blood on the knives they had used to cut themselves

Beliefs: 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

Agony: A national holiday in many countries, thousands take part in the annual rituals which include people whipping and cutting themselves with chains and knives

Brutal: 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 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 and creates a negative image, and encourage people to donate blood instead

Photos show the men standing in a mosque and repeatedly whipping themselves with knives attached to the ends of chains

Crowds of men watch on in the mosque and some of them film the gruesome scenes using their mobile phones

A young man kneels down and dabs at his wounds with a damp cloth after whipping himself with sharp blades

Some of the spectators could be seen breaking down in tears as the brutal ritual unfolded in front of them in Afghanistan