BAGHDAD — Attacks targeting Shiite pilgrims bound for the holy city of Karbala rocked Baghdad yesterday, leaving 20 dead and more than 60 injured, officials said.

The attacks ended a monthlong lull in violence while security in the capital was high for Iraq's parliamentary elections. The bloodshed also appeared to be timed to the climax of an annual 40-day period of mourning for Shiite faithful, a period in which Sunni insurgent attacks have become commonplace in the years since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

EARTHQUAKE HITS OFF INDONESIA

JAKARTA, Indonesia — A powerful earthquake off eastern Indonesia today damaged dozens of buildings and sent panicked residents fleeing to higher ground, some climbing trees to escape a feared tsunami, officials and witnesses said. At least 42 people were injured.

The 7.2-magnitude quake briefly triggered a tsunami warning — delivered over mobile loudspeakers, radio and television. The alert was lifted about an hour later, however.

DOCTOR CHARGED WITH MOLESTATION

LOS ANGELES — A doctor who is the son of Bermuda's leader was ordered to stand trial yesterday on 33 counts of molesting female patients at Los Angeles medical clinics where he practiced.

The decision by a Superior Court judge came after a week of testimony from 12 women, including an undercover vice officer and a 15-year-old girl. They said Kevin Antario Brown, the 37-year-old son of Bermuda's premier, touched them inappropriately. One woman said he raped her.

Brown has pleaded not guilty.

U.S. SAILORS TO BE TRIED FOR MURDER

TIJUANA, Mexico — Two U.S. sailors have been charged with the murder of a prostitute and the attempted murder of another in this northern border city, Mexican state prosecutors said.

Witnesses and a hotel camera place the two men at the hotel where a 19-year-old prostitute was smothered to death Jan. 17, prosecutors said Tuesday. On Feb. 4, prosecutors say, police found the men in a bloodstained hotel room with a prostitute and a hotel employee, both of whom had suffered stab wounds.

The sailors were charged with attempted murder. Authorities say they later found evidence linking them to the January killing.