45 dead in twin Iraq suicide car bombs: Official

Two suicide bombers detonated vehicles packed with explosives on the outskirts of the holy Shiite shrine city of Karbala on Thursday killing at least 45 people, a top official said.

At least 150 others were wounded in the twin attacks, which occurred about 20 minutes apart at separate entrances to the city, 110 kilometres (70 miles) south of Baghdad, the head of Karbala provincial council Mohammed Hamid al-Mussawi said.

The first attack struck at Karbala's northern outskirts at around 3:00pm (1200 GMT), Mussawi said, with the second explosion occurring at around 3:20pm around 15 kilometres (nine miles) south of the city.

More than a million pilgrims are expected to visit Karbala in the coming days for ceremonies to commemorate Arbaeen, which marks 40 days since the anniversary of the death of the revered 7th century Imam Hussein.

The attack comes amid a spike in violence in Iraq, which had been relatively calm after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki formed a new government in December, more than nine months after parliamentary elections.