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

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

Shiites from across Iraq are headed to Karbala for Ashoura. Karbala is located about 80 km south of Baghdad.

An hour later, another bomb hit a group of people marching in Khalis, a former Al-Qaeda stronghold about 80 km north of Baghdad. Authorities said 14 were wounded.

Separately, a roadside bomb in the northern city of Kirkuk killed one passer-by and wounded two others, city police and hospital officials said.