(Adds comment from U.S. Defense Secretary, general)

By Sami Al-Jumaili

KERBALA, Iraq, March 7 (Reuters) - More than a million Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims poured into Iraq's holy city of Kerbala on Wednesday, defying sectarian attacks that have killed about 200 people in two days of bloodshed.

A suicide bomber killed at least 26 people in a cafe north of Baghdad in religiously mixed Diyala province, which has seen frequent sectarian violence between Shi'ites and Sunnis.

The bomber targeted a neighborhood in the town of Balad Ruz where Shi'ite Kurds live, local police chief Faris al-Umayri told Reuters. Another police source said 30 were killed.

At least 25 Shi'ite pilgrims were killed on Wednesday as they streamed into Kerbala, including 10 by a car bomb in southern Baghdad that also left 12 Iraqi police dead.

The fresh violence, in the face of tight security, came a day after some 140 pilgrims died in suicide bombings and shootings likely to further fuel the sectarian tension already threatening to pitch Iraq into all-out civil war.

Despite the carnage, Shi'ites, who were oppressed under Saddam Hussein but now dominate politics, vowed not be deterred by attacks they blame on Sunni Arab militants.

"These acts will not stop us," said Jabar Ali, who walked for eight days from the southern city of Basra to Kerbala for Shi'ite mourning ceremonies.

Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched a U.S.-backed security crackdown last month that has had some success in reducing death squad killings blamed on Shi'ite militias.

But there has been no let-up in bombings, many of which target Shi'ite communities who say they need the militias to protect them from Sunni Arab insurgents such as al Qaeda.

U.S. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in Washington the number of murders had decreased but bombings had increased since the crackdown.

"With just those few data points, it remains to me, potentially, that the Iraqi people do want to stop killing each other, but that the Al Qaeda wants to find ways to get them to start killing each other again," he said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said some 2,200 military police would be sent over to deal with detainees picked up as part of new Baghdad security plan.

The bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in Samarra just over a year ago sparked a round of reprisals. Since then, an unceasing litany of attacks on both sides has served only to fuel the violence which killed 34,500 people last year.

Maliki, who blamed Tuesday's attacks on Sunni Arab insurgents, has called a meeting with Iraq's neighbors and world powers to enlist their support in stopping the violence.

Iran said it would attend Saturday's meeting, which will be a rare opportunity for Iranian and U.S. officials to sit at the same table. Washington accuses Tehran of fomenting violence by backing Shi'ite militias, a charge Iran denies.

Shi'ites are heading to Kerbala to commemorate Arbain, the end of 40 days of mourning since Ashura, which marks the death of Prophet Mohammad's grandson in 680 AD. Under Saddam Hussein, they were banned from making the pilgrimage.

Kerbala police chief Major General Mohammed Abu al-Walid said around 1.5 million pilgrims were in the city on Wednesday.

Kerbala Gov. Aqil al-Khazali said 10,000 police and soldiers were deployed in and around the city. Sixty checkpoints had been set up and vehicles were banned from the city center.

One of Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite leaders, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, joined pilgrims on the road just south of Baghdad and denounced the attacks.

"Even Saddam with all his institutions and strength was not able to stand in the way of these masses," Hakim told Furat TV. (Additional reporting by Mussab Al-Khairalla, Aseel Kami, Claudia Parsons and Ibon Villelabeitia)

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