Bombings in the Iraqi Shi'ite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala have killed more than 40 people.
Hospital officials in Najaf say 30 of the deaths occurred when a suicide bomber targeted a crowd gathered near the Imam Ali Shrine for a funeral. Sixty-five people were wounded.
Earlier in the day Sunday, a suicide car-bomb explosion in Karbala killed at least 12 people and wounded about 30 outside the main bus station.
In central Baghdad, insurgents dragged three Iraqi election workers from a car and shot them to death. Televised photographs showed gunmen standing over their bound victims and firing pistols into them.
Separately, insurgents say they are threatening to kill 10 Iraqi hostages unless their U.S. employer ends operations in Iraq. A videotape of the blindfolded hostages has been broadcast on Arab television.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
