* Story Highlights
    * NEW: Motorcycle bomb kills six in Sunni neighborhood of Baghdad
    * Blast near Shiite mosque kills at least 30 in Mosul
    * Three attacks target Shiite pilgrims traveling through Iraqi capital
    * Friday was end of Shiite celebration of historic imam's birth

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 42 people were killed and 154 were
wounded in five attacks on a religious holiday Friday, an Interior
Ministry official said.

The first four attacks, which together killed 36 and wounded 124,
targeted Shiites; the fifth attack was against a Sunni target.

In the latest attack, a parked motorcycle bomb exploded in the
marketplace of al-Khadra in a predominantly Sunni neighborhood of
eastern Baghdad. Six people died, and 30 were wounded, the official
said. The attack appeared to have targeted a police patrol; three of the
fatalities were police, the official said.

But most of the carnage was directed at Shiite targets, with the highest
single toll exacted in the northern city of Mosul, where a suicide car
bomb exploded near a Shiite mosque as a funeral was taking place,
killing 30 people and wounding 100, the official said.

In another attack, a roadside bomb exploded near a bus carrying pilgrims
in the Sadr City neighborhood, killing three and wounding eight, the
official said.

Also in Sadr City, a roadside bomb exploded near a car, killing one
person and wounding seven.

And in eastern Baghdad, a car carrying pilgrims was targeted, killing
two people and wounding nine.

Friday was the end of a Shiite Muslim celebration in Karbala celebrating
the birthday of Imam al-Mahdi, the last of 12 historic imams revered by
Shiites. Pilgrims participating in such celebrations have been the
target of similar attacks by Sunni Muslims.

According to the Oxford Dictionary of Islam, Imam al-Mahdi "is expected
to return at the end of time as the messianic imam who will restore
justice and equity on Earth."

Last Friday, bombs detonated after prayers near five Shiite mosques
nearly simultaneously, killing 29 people as they were leaving the mosques.

The attacks fueled fears that sectarian violence could be reigniting in
the country and called into question the ability of security forces to
safeguard the population as U.S. troops have taken a back seat to their
Iraqi counterparts.

Though the number of casualties has dropped over the past year, Friday's
attacks show that an insurgency capable of wreaking havoc remains.

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