Bomb attacks kill at least 26 in Iraq

A number of attacks across Iraq have killed at least 26 people and injured more than a hundred others. Thursday's attacks targeted Shiite pilgrims in the lead-up to Ashoura, the sect's most solemn ritual each year.

Twin bomb attacks killed at least 13 others in Hilla, a town nearly 100 kilometers south of Baghdad.

91 people are believed to be wounded, including three explosives experts called in to defuse a roadside bomb. The men were working on the device when a nearby car suddenly exploded, detonating the first bomb.

Hours later in Sadr city, a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, a bomb explosion killed nine people and wounded 22 others.

Authorities say the blast was aimed at people gathering in a funeral tent to offer condolences.

Also in Baghdad, another explosion killed four Shiite pilgrims heading to the holy city of Karbala in central Iraq for Ashoura ceremonies.

Iraqi security personnel patrol the site of bomb attacks in Hilla, 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad, December 24, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)