BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – Two suicide bombers blew themselves up Tuesday in a crowd of Shiite pilgrims streaming toward the holy city of Karbala, killing 93 people in one of several attacks targeting the faithful ahead of a weekend holiday.

The attack came a day after American forces suffered their deadliest day in nearly a month – nine American soldiers were killed in explosions north of Baghdad, the military said Tuesday.

The coordinated attack Tuesday happened on a main street in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, said Captain Muthana Khalid. He said 93 people were killed and more than 164 wounded.

Two men wearing explosives belts mingled among pilgrims lining up to be searched at a checkpoint before a bridge, then blew themselves up, said Brigadier General Othman al-Ghanemi, the regional police commander.

“This attack has created a chaotic situation and people are very angry. Many innocent people died who only wanted to practice their religious beliefs,” he said.

An Associated Press cameraman at the scene said ambulances and Iraqi police were swarming the area and there was no immediate sign of U.S. forces.

American forces continued their push Tuesday into Sadr City, home to 2.5 million of the city’s poorest residents as well as fighters loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Some 600 American soldiers searched the neighborhood’s northwest quadrant, knocking on doors and searching homes, according to an AP reporter traveling with them.

The American forces are seeking a “reconciliatory approach” to avoid a backlash on the streets, said Col. Richard Kim. One group of soldiers were met Tuesday by Iraqi children, offering them ice cream bars.

Six American soldiers died when a bomb exploded Monday near their vehicles during a combat operation in Salahuddin province, the military said. Three others were wounded in the blast. Another three soldiers died the same day in a roadside bomb attack in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad.

Both provinces are Sunni-dominated and have seen a rise in violence since additional U.S. forces surged into Baghdad as part of a security crackdown three weeks ago.

Monday was “a very traumatic day” for American troops in Iraq, said Lieutenant Colonel Michael Donnelly, a spokesman for American forces in northern Iraq.

“Our hearts and prayers are with the families right now in their time of loss, and our resolve is stronger to accomplish our mission here,” Colonel Donnelly said.

It was the deadliest day for Americans in Iraq since Feb. 7, when 11 troops were killed – seven when their helicopter was shot down north of Fallujah and four others in combat operations.

The highest daily U.S. death toll since the Iraq war began was Jan. 26, 2005, when 37 Americans died in attacks.

American officials say as violence has fallen in Baghdad, where the joint U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown was in its third week, insurgents have fled the capital for outlying areas, such as those where the soldiers were killed Monday.

Saddam Hussein’s clan is from Salahuddin, and the late al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was hiding out in Diyala when he was killed by an American airstrike there last summer. Direct attacks on U.S. forces in Diyala are up 70 percent since July, according to figures provided by the American military.

A suicide car bomber shattered the capital’s relative calm Monday, striking a famous book market in the city’s oldest quarter and killing at least 38 shoppers.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called the bombing “a new message to the world that the terrorists oppose humanity and knowledge.”

The bombing was seen as an effort by Sunni insurgents to bring major bloodshed back into the capital and into the lap of its Shiite-dominated government. The provocation could also erase Washington’s plans for stability during a surge of more than 20,000 additional troops into Baghdad.

At least 24 Iraqis were killed in other violence Tuesday, including eight Shiite pilgrims killed in the south Baghdad neighborhood of Dora when gunmen pumped bullets into a minibus they were riding in.

In past years, Shiite militiamen “played a role in protecting the pilgrims and the attacks were fewer and less effective, but this year things are different,” said Bahaa al-Araji, a Shiite parliament member.

“The government bears some responsibility for this because it has not provided enough security forces to protect the pilgrims,” Mr. al-Araji said. “This indicates some shortcomings in the Baghdad security plan.”

Meanwhile, Iraqi army units were preparing to deploy along major routes to ensure pilgrims’ safety, according to a Defense Ministry statement issued Tuesday.

“The Defense Ministry hopes that the citizens will continue the rituals of the pilgrimage safely under efficient security protection,” the statement said.
The nine American deaths Monday brought to 20 the number of Americans killed in Iraq this month. At least 3,184 members of the American military have died since the beginning of the war in March 2003, according to an AP count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 2,561 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military’s numbers.

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Associated Press Writer Ryan Lenz with U.S. troops in Baghdad contributed to this report.