28 dead, scores injured in Iraq sectarian suicide bombings

At least 29 people have been killed and scores have been injured in three suicide bomb attacks across Iraq.

The attacks targeted Shia pilgrims travelling to the Iraqi city of Karbala for a religious event. The latest sectarian attack struck in the capital Baghdad, while attackers also struck two sites to the south.

In Baghdad, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt as pilgrims had gathered at a tent for refreshments. Fourteen people were killed and 28 were wounded, police said.

A further eight people were killed and 28 wounded when a suicide attacker blew himself up among pilgrims in Youssifiyah, some 20km south of Baghdad, shortly after sunset.

A third suicide bomber detonated explosives in the town of Latifiyah, some 30km south of Baghdad, killing at least seven people and wounding 25.

The pilgrims were heading to the holy city of Karbala for Arbaeen, which marks the end of the 40 days of mourning for the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussein.

Meanwhile, gunmen wearing military uniforms shot dead a family of five in Baghdad's western suburb of Abu Ghraib.

Sectarian violence has surged across Iraq this year. More than 8,000 people have been killed since January, the highest annual toll since 2008.

The UN says the overall death toll in November was 659, including 565 civilians and 94 members of the Iraqi security forces, compared with 979 in October.

The UN has called on Iraq's political leaders to co-operate to end the bloodshed, which has escalated since an army raid on a Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp in April 2013.