Iraq bombings target Shiite pilgrims

BAGHDAD, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- At least 16 people have been killed and 43 others injured in a double car bombing Wednesday at a Baghdad bus station, Iraqi authorities say.

The bus station bombing was one of several attacks targeting Shiite pilgrims headed to Karbala for al-Arbaeen, one of the holiest days in the Shiite religious calendar, CNN reports.

Earlier one person was killed and five others injured when an explosive device detonated as a convoy of Shiite pilgrims passed near Al-Rashid military camp in southern Baghdad, Kuwait's KUNA news agency reported.

Two Iraqis were wounded in another incident when a bomb exploded near a park in the heart of Baghdad.

The United Nations' top envoy to Iraq, Staffan de Moisture, strongly condemned the attacks and said they were "clearly designed to provoke sectarian tensions."

Al-Arbaeen commemorates the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, who is buried in Karbala.