Two car bombs targeting Iranian pilgrims in Iraq's holy Shia cities of Kerbala and Najaf killed at least ten people, as the country's leaders met to try break an eight-month deadlock over a new government.
Seven people were killed and 34 others wounded by a blast at one of the entrances to Kerbala, site of two of the holiest shrines in Shia Islam, said Mohammed al-Moussawi, head of the Kerbala provincial council.
Four of the dead were Iranians, he said.
In Najaf, another car bomb killed three people and wounded ten others when it exploded near buses transporting Iranian pilgrims to the revered Imam Ali shrine, a hospital official said.
The pilgrims are often targeted by Sunni Islamist groups, such as al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Iraq's political factions are preparing to meet in the capital of the Kurdish region to try to forge a deal on a new government, eight months after an inconclusive election that produced no outright winner.
Incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is close to securing a second term, but is still trying to win over leaders of a Sunni-backed cross-sectarian alliance.
Tension has risen during the eight-month impasse as Mr Maliki and the head of the Sunni-backed bloc, former premier Iyad Allawi, jostle over power, while insurgents launch a number of devastating attacks.
US troops meanwhile are scaling back their presence in Iraq ahead of a full withdrawal next year.
