A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol in eastern Baghdad Friday killed two people and wounded six, police said.

The blast occurred in the Zayouna area, and the wounded included three policemen, police 1st Lt. Bilal Ali Majid said.

On Thursday, six bombings — including three by suicide car bombers — targeted police patrols, leaving 17 people dead and dozens wounded.

South of the capital in the city of Musayyib, three mortar rounds landed on a procession of pilgrims heading to the Shiite holy city of Karbala for a religious ceremony, killing at least two and wounding 23, five of whom were critically injured, Musayyib police said.

Tens of thousands of people are expected in Karbala, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad, for Saturday's religious ceremony. Many walk to the city from across Iraq, and several attacks have already occurred against processions heading to the city.

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