At least three bombs struck Shiite areas of Iraq Saturday, killing at least 36 people over the holiday.
A magnetic bomb was attached under the frame of a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims. An Iraqi police officer said the bomb blew up as the bus drove away from an Iraqi checkpoint in Baghdad on its way to a shrine. The officer said the driver lost control and the bus struck a car and then flipped over. Five pilgrims died and nine others were hospitalized, the Iraqi official said.
The day’s first attack was a double car bombing that killed at least 23 people in a restaurant in the Shiite Sadr neighborhood of Baghdad. The second was a roadside bomb near an open-air market that killed seven people, including three children in a playground. The bus was the third bombing.
Sunni insurgents frequently target buses carrying Iranian pilgrims. The buses are readily identifiable and make easy targets.