BAGHDAD - Five people in Iraq, including three Lebanese Shi'ite pilgrims, have been killed in two attacks, officials say.
A bus carrying Lebanese pilgrims struck a roadside bomb on a highway near the city of Ramadi, 115 kilometres west of Baghdad. Three people were killed and seven people wounded in the blast. The pilgrims had travelled through Syria and were on their way to Shi'ite holy sites in southern Iraq.
Hours earlier, gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying day labourers on their way to a construction site near the city of Baqouba, killing two people and wounding seven, Diyala provincial police officials say.
Baqouba is a former Sunni insurgent stronghold located some 60km northeast of the Iraqi capital.
Local medics confirmed the casualties. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.
The attacks came as Baghdad hosts nuclear talks between world powers and Teheran over Iran's atomic program.