Iraq attacks claim 46 lives, Shiite pilgrims taken from bus, killed

About 46 people were killed in attacks across Iraq, including 12 religious pilgrims who were pulled from a bus and shot, police officials said Monday. The Shiite pilgrims were headed for Baghdad to begin a pilgrimage to the city of Karbala when they were taken off the bus and shot on the side of the road, the New York Times reported. In other attacks: -- At least 17 people died and 52 were wounded in explosions of at least five car bombs and three roadside bombs around Baghdad, CNN reported. -- Four police officers died and four others were wounded when a car bomb detonated outside a police station in Baiji and gunmen then stormed the building, officials said. -- At least four Iraqi soldiers died and four others were wounded in Azham when a suicide bomber attacked a military base, police officials said. -- In Tikrit, gunmen seized an unknown number of City Council employees but there was no immediate report of casualties, China's Xinhua News Agency reported.