At least one Shiite pilgrim was killed in Baghdad on Friday and 10 more were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded as their bus was heading for a festival in the holy city of Karbala, police said.
On Thursday at least 19 Shiite pilgrims were killed -- 18 of them by two female suicide bombers. Another 75 were wounded.
Bloodshed routinely marks Shiite pilgrimages, the last of which was on July 28, when three female suicide bombers killed 25 Shiites near a shrine in the capital.
Sunday's festival will see tens of thousands of pilgrims in Karbala to venerate Imam Mahdi, an eighth century imam who vanished as a boy and whom Shiites believe will return to bring justice to the world.