Bombings in Iraq holy city during rite kill 20

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 20 people were killed and 75 wounded on Friday when two car bombs blew up in Iraq's holy city of Kerbala as hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims observed a major religious rite, hospital sources said.

The attack on the final and most important day of the Arbain festival was the third major strike this week against Shi'ite pilgrims amid a political furor over the banning of candidates, many of them Sunnis, from a March 7 election.

Police said the bombings occurred on the outskirts of the city 80 km (50 miles) south of Baghdad. Details were sketchy as most officials were observing Arbain, which marks the end of 40 days of mourning for Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, who died in a 7th century battle at Kerbala.

Overall violence in Iraq has fallen sharply, but Shi'ite gatherings remain a target for Sunni Islamist insurgents. Insurgents have also launched a series of coordinated suicide assaults on Baghdad since August aimed at undermining Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ahead of the election.

Banned under Saddam Hussein, Arbain and other Shi'ite religious events have drawn millions of Shi'ites not just from Iraq but also from nearby countries like Iran since the Sunni dictator was ousted in the 2003 U.S. invasion.

A bomb planted on a cart pulled by a motorbike killed at least 20 pilgrims on Wednesday as they streamed into Kerbala. More than 40 were killed outside the capital on Monday as they began the long walk to Kerbala.

The attacks added to sectarian tensions that have been rising as a result of an election ban imposed on almost 500 candidates suspected of links to Saddam's outlawed Baath party.

Although the list contained more Shi'ite than Sunni politicians, many Sunnis believed it was aimed at preventing them from gaining a fair share of power in the election next month.

DANGEROUS RESENTMENT

Sunnis largely boycotted the last national election in 2005 and their anger at their loss of power fueled a powerful insurgency. Renewed Sunni frustration could encourage insurgents like al Qaeda even though the wider sectarian war between Sunnis and Shi'ites has faded.

The ban on the candidates was suspended on Thursday until after the vote by an appellate panel.

Infuriated by the panel's action, the Shi'ite-led government has called a special session of parliament for Sunday and asked the country's supreme court to rule on the legality of the panel's decision.

Iraq's Shi'ite majority and minority Kurds were often brutally oppressed by the Baath party under Saddam and many of its current Shi'ite leaders were forced to spend years in exile.

Pilgrims in Kerbala said they were fearful about the arduous journey home after the rite finishes on Friday, despite the deployment of tens of thousands of troops and police.

"I have concerns and expect to be targeted on the return route like what happened on the way to Kerbala," said Balasim Khalaf, 51, from Balad, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad. "This is our destiny but it won't stop us from conducting our rituals."

Hadi Hussein, a 21-year-old student from Baghdad's Sadr City slum, said he expected "bigger bombs" on his way home. "The terrorists are cowards as they target the weak," he said.

(Writing by Michael Christie; editing by Tim Pearce)