Two bombs kill 20 near Iraqi Shi'ite city of Kerbala

KERBALA, Iraq (Reuters) - Two car bombs exploded near the holy Shi'ite city of Kerbala in southern Iraq on Monday, killing 20 mainly Shi'ite pilgrims and wounding 54, an Iraqi official said.

The blasts took place on the road between Kerbala and the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf, Mohammed al-Moussawi, head of the Kerbala provincial council, told Reuters.

The bombs were targeting Shi'ite pilgrims visiting Kerbala, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad, ahead of the anniversary of Imam Mohammed al-Mehdi's birthday for which several hundred thousand people are expected this week.

A police source said there were a total of 30 killed or wounded by one car bomb.

The birthday is one of several annual pilgrimages that have evolved into shows of strength for Iraq's majority Shi'ite community since the fall of Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein, who curbed such rites.

(Reporting by Rania El Gamal, Baghdad newsroom; writing by Ulf Laessing)