Karbala: More than 42 people were killed and 100 injured Friday in two attacks targeting Shi’ites in the southern Iraqi city of Karbala, according to security sources and eyewitnesses.
The attacks on the final and most important day of the Arbain festival was the third major strike this week against Shi'ite pilgrims amid a political furore over the banning of candidates, many of them Sunnis, from a March 7 election.
In the Qantara Al Salam neighbourhood of eastern Karbala, some 26 people were killed and 70 injured in a car bomb blast. Sources added that three rocket shells fell on pilgrims the Bab Touireg area of central Karbala, leaving 16 killed and 30 injured.
Police said the bombings occurred on the outskirts of the city 80km south of Baghdad. Details were sketchy as most officials were observing Arbain, which marks the end of 40 days of mourning for Imam Hussain, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), who died in a 7th century battle at Kerbala.
More than 30,000 military and police officers have been deployed on the roads leading to Karbala to try to beef up security. Security authorities cooperated with US army air support to protect visitors in the city. Official statistics indicated that more than 8 million visitors have arrived in the city to attend the annual ritual, according to security.
