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Four people died in two bomb attacks near a Shiite shrine in Karbala and the other victims were members of a family whose home was targeted by insurgents, The Washington Post reported.

In Karbala, about 60 miles southwest of Baghdad, a bomb exploded outside a restaurant near the city's main Shiite shrine. As emergency workers arrived, a second bomb went off, Iraqi Army Maj. Alaa al-Ghanimy said.

In addition to the four reported dead, the attack left at least 24 people wounded, the Post said.

At a home in the village of Tarmiyah north of Baghdad, insurgents overnight killed four men and two women execution-style, a police official said.

Violence in southern Iraq may be associated with political uncertainty surrounding elections scheduled for January. Iraqi leaders have been unable to adopt legislation necessary to proceed with the elections, largely due to disagreement over provisions some critics say would disenfranchise Sunni Arabs.

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