Bombs targeting worshippers leave 20 dead

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Suicide attacks outside two Shiite mosques killed at least 20 people in Baghdad on Thursday as worshippers left early morning prayers to mark the end of Ramadan, the Interior Ministry said.

The suicide bomb blasts also wounded 35 others, a ministry official said.

The bombs went off as worshippers left the mosques to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of a month of fasting.

Shiite followers of Ayatolla Ali al-Sistani began their Eid celebrations Thursday. Other Shiites and Sunni Muslims have been celebrating the holiday since Tuesday.

A suicide car bomber carried out the first attack in the Zafaraniya neighborhood in southeastern Baghdad. The attack killed eight people and wounded 10. Among the victims were four Iraqi soldiers who were part of an army patrol providing security for worshippers, the ministry said.

The second attack, in eastern Baghdad's New Baghdad district, claimed 12 lives and wounded 25 others when a teenage boy detonated his explosives-laden vest at a security checkpoint outside the mosque, the ministry official said.

The attacks Thursday are at least the third time Eid revelers have been targeted in Iraq this week.

On Wednesday, a car bomb went off in the parking lot of a mosque in Balad, killing four people and injuring 15 others. The victims were part of a large crowd that had gathered to celebrate Eid in the city located 50 miles (80 km) north of Baghdad, the U.S. Army said.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this story.