The two explosions went off in the late afternoon in Sunni Muslim areas in the Iraqi capital and to its north. Sunni insurgents in Iraq have frequently targeted Shiite shrines and pilgrims.

The deadliest blast struck in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Ghazaliyah, on a road that pilgrims frequently travel to get to the Shiite holy city of Karbala. Three pilgrims were killed and 17 were wounded in that attack, police and hospital officials said.

Shiite pilgrims from across Iraq are headed to Karbala for Ashoura, which marks the anniversary of the seventh century death of Imam Hussein in a killing that sealed Islam’s historic Sunni-Shiite split. Karbala is located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad.

An hour later, another bomb hit pilgrims marching in Khalis, a former Al-Qaeda stronghold about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Baghdad. Authorities said 14 were wounded.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Separately, a roadside bomb in the northern city of Kirkuk killed one passer-by and wounded two others, city police and hospital officials said. The explosion was not related to the religious pilgrimage.

Violence in Iraq has decreased dramatically over the last three years but bombings and shootings continue to occur almost daily.