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shrine city of Karbala in central Iraq, the official said.

The bombers struck at around 9:00 am (0600 GMT), the official, who requested anonymity, told AFP

"I was inside my house when we heard an explosion, and all the windows of my house shattered," local trader Abu Mohammed said.

"The inside of the bus was covered in blood. The police took the wounded to Sadr City's hospital for treatment," headded.

Local resident Abbas Jumaa, 27, said: "I saw women and old men, I don't know why theyattacked them.

"They are only pilgrims and they don't carry guns. So why would anyone attack them?"

A short time later, two near simultaneous explosions near the Shaab football stadium in eastern Baghdad killed three pilgrims as they were walking home to Sadr City, said another police official.

Thirteen pilgrims also were wounded in the two blasts, which occurred less than half a mile apart, the official said.

AH the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to release information to the media.

The blasts came a day after a roadside bomb targeted pilgrims on their way to Karbala, killing one and wounding four others. Last Friday, a string of bombings targeted Shia worshippers in the Baghdad area during Friday prayers, killing at least 29 people.No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Attacks on Shia civilians particularly during pilgrimages have been tlie hallmark of Sunni extremists, including al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Hundreds of thousands of devout Shias have been traveling by foot or by vehicle to Karbala, 80km south of Baghdad, to celebrate tlie birth of Mohammed al-Mahdi, the 12th Shia imam, who disap-

peared in the ninth century. Devout Shias call him the Hidden Imam and believe he will return to restore peace and harmony.

The ceremonies concluded early Friday morning.

Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi said in a statement this week that one of those alleged gunmen served as one of his bodyguards and eight others were soldiers in the Iraqi army.

Roads to and from Karbala have been crowded with pilgrims in vehicles or on foot this week as Shias commemorate the birth of theTWelfth Imam, a disappeared ninth century Muslim leader revered as a coming messiah.

Pilgrims in the holy city held candle-lighting ceremonies from midnight to dawn at a mosque built on a site said to be the last place visited by the Mahdi before his disappearance.

Streets in the city cleared out in tlie early hours of the morning with no reports of any violence.

Violence in Iraq has dropped off markedly in recent months, but attacks against security forces and civilians remain common in Baghdad, Mosul and the ethnically divided northern oil city of Kirkuk

The number of violent deaths in Iraq fell by a third from the June figure of 437 to 275 in July, the first month local forces have been in charge of security in urban areas since the US-led invasion of2003.

The figure in May was 155, the lowest of any month since the invasion.

A string of six powerful bombs targeting Shia worshippers in Baghdad last week killed 28 people and wounded 63 in what appeared to be a bid to reignite sectarian fighting between Sunnis and Shias.

That sectarian war in 2006 and 2007 killed thousands across the country.