Two blasts kill eight in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Eight Shiite pilgrims returning from a holy holiday in Karbala were killed Monday when two bombs detonated in separate attacks in Baghdad, authorities said.

One roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad killed four Iraqi civilians and injured 11 others, police said. The bomb detonated close to a bus near al-Hamza Square in Sadr City, the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported.

The injured were taken to hospitals, police said.

In the second attack, four people died and 13 were wounded when a minibus hit a bomb planted in the road in the al-Obeidi neighborhood in northeastern Baghdad, the International Herald Tribune reported.

Monday was the end of Arbaeen, which marks the end of a 40-day mourning period honoring the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed. Millions of Shiites flock to Karbala each year for the holy holiday, drawing attacks by Sunni extremists.