A suicide bomber has killed eight people near a Shia mosque in the Iraqi city of Baquba, 65kms north of Baghdad.
Another suicide attacker has killed eight people at a Shia mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Worshippers had gathered at both mosques to observe Ashura, one of the holiest events on the Shia religious calendar.
During Ashura, Shia Muslims mourn the death of Mohammed's grandson in the 7th century. Ashura is traditionally a sectarian flashpoint, with a surge in violence between Shia and Sunni communities.
Millions of Shia Muslims have been observing Ashura for the past week. In Iraq, the main ceremonies will culminate on Saturday in the shrine city of Karbala, 110kms south of Baghdad, where some 2m devotees are expected to congregate.
In today’s bombing in Iraq, another 14 people were wounded in the attack. The bombing took place in the Shifta neighbourhood of southwest Baquba.
Baquba is the capital of Diyala province, where the US military and Iraqi forces are concentrating their fight against Sunni Islamist al-Qaeda and other insurgents who were pushed out of Baghdad and the western Anbar province.
In the bombing in Pakistan, another 20 people were wounded. The suicide bomber was a teenage boy who opened fire on worshippers with an assault rifle before blowing himself up just inside the mosque.
Cities across Pakistan have been placed on high alert amid fears that the blast could heighten instability ahead of key elections in mid-February, which have been delayed following the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto. city.
