A wave of bombings and shootings across Iraq kills scores of people in seemingly coordinated attacks during a major religious festival.<br/> <br />Here in central Baghdad, at least 18 Shi'ite pilgrims were killed and dozens more wounded in bomb attacks.<br/> <br />At least four bombs in total struck the capital on Wednesday.<br/> <br />In the southern city of Hilla, two car bombs, including one detonated by a suicide bomber, went off outside restaurants frequented by police, killing at least 22 people and wounding 38.<br/> <br />And in the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk, early morning attacks killed at least one person and wounded 14 others, according to police and hospital sources.<br/> <br />They said the attacks targeted the headquarters of the Kurdish Democratic Party.<br/> <br />Two more car bombs killed four people in the mainly Shi'ite city of Balad, and a car bomb in Kerbala killed three and wounded 17.<br/> <br />The death toll from Tuesday's attacks had already reached at least 53 by late morning.<br/> <br />While violence has eased in Iraq since the height of the war, attacks like these show that bombings, and particularly sectarian killings, are still a very real risk.<br/> <br />These latest attacks come as Shi'ites gathered to mark the death of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, a great-grandson of Prophet Mohammad.<br/> <br />Travis Brecher, Reuters
