At least 40 people were killed and 68 injured in two bomb attacks late Monday in the Shiite holy city of Karbala during a religious ceremony, witnesses and doctors said, dpa reported.
In the first incident, a suicide bomber killed 18 people. Minutes later a car bomb exploded some 300 metres away from the initial blast, killing at least another 22 people.
Both explosions took place some 4 kilometres from the city centre.
Hundreds of thousands of Shiites are gathered in Karbala for the holiday of the Imam al Mahdi. Some 30,000 security forces were also deployed to protect the pilgrims, the police said.