Karbala blasts kill 12, injure 30 Iraqis

Multiple bomb explosions have rocked the southern Iraqi city of Karbala, killing at least 12 people and injuring 30 others, witnesses report.
KERBALA, Iraq (Reuters) - Three blasts in the Iraqi city of Kerbala killed at least 12 people and wounded 30 more as they lined up outside a local government building, police said on Sunday.

A bomb in a car exploded outside the offices where national ID cards and passports are issued and two other blasts went off as emergency services arrived at the site.

"When people and security personnel were busy evacuating the dead and the wounded, another two explosions hit the place, causing more casualties," a Kerbala police official said.

Kerbala, a major Shi'ite holy city 80 km (50 miles) southwest of the capital Baghdad, has often been attacked in the past by Sunni Islamist insurgents targeting Shi'ite pilgrims who flock to the city's religious sites.

A suicide bomber targeting pilgrims on their way to Kerbala killed four people and wounded 17 others on Thursday.

Violence has eased since the height of sectarian strife in 2006-2007, but insurgents tied to al-Qaeda and Shi'ite militias still carry out almost daily attacks that are testing Iraq's government as U.S. troops prepare to withdraw at the end of the year.

(Reporting by Habib al-Zubaidi; writing by Patrick Markey)


URGENT: Karbala blast kills, injures, several people
9/25/2011 11:00 AM

KARBALA / Aswat al-Iraq: A number of people have been killed or injured in 4 explosive charges blast Sunday in central Karbala, where leading government offices exist, a Karbala police source reported.


“Four explosive charges blew off on Sunday morning behind the building of Karbala Province’s Council, where its Nationality & Civil Status Department exists, killing and wounding several people,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


The security source said that the area of the attack was closed, where all cars, motorbikes and bicycles were prevented to reach.

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KERBALA, Iraq (Reuters) - Four successive blasts hit the Iraqi city of Kerbala on Sunday, killing at least 16 people and wounding dozens more as they lined up outside a local government building.

The first bomb ripped through a crowd of guards and civilians gathered in front of an office issuing ID cards and passports, and three other explosions went off shortly after as emergency services arrived at the site, police said.

Panicked security guards fired shots in the air to keep onlookers away after the blasts tore the front off nearby buildings and set ablaze cars parked on the street.

"I was inside my house when I heard a big explosion. When I got out I saw many people wounded and some bodies on the ground," said Mohammed Na'eim, a local resident.

A Kerbala police official said 16 people were killed and 34 more wounded while a Kerbala health department official said so far hospitals had 10 dead and another 110 wounded.
Violence has in Iraq has eased since the height of sectarian strife in 2006-2007, but insurgents tied to al Qaeda and Shi'ite militias still carry out daily attacks as U.S. troops prepare to withdraw at the end of this year.

Kerbala, a major Shi'ite holy city 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad, has often been attacked in the past by Sunni Islamist insurgents targeting Shi'ite pilgrims who flock to the city's religious sites.

A suicide bomber targeting pilgrims on their way to Kerbala killed four people and wounded 17 on Thursday.

TARGETING LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Insurgents this year have increasingly targeted local government buildings and the security forces in an attempt to destabilize Iraq's fragile government that is formed from Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish political blocs.

Bombers frequently set off one blast and trigger more when security officials arrive to help casualties.

More than eight years after the U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, the remaining American soldiers are scheduled to withdraw from Iraq at the end of this year when a bilateral security agreement with the OPEC oil producer ends.

U.S. troop numbers in Iraq will have dropped to around 30,000 by the end of this month. They are mostly involved in advising and assisting Iraqi forces since ending combat missions last year.

Iraqi and U.S. officials say local armed forces can contain the country's stubborn insurgency, but many Iraqis see some remaining American military presence as a guarantee of stability as their country works to rebuild from the war.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government is in talks with U.S. officials over whether some American troops will remain on as trainers after 2011, but those negotiations are still in the preliminary stages.

(Additional reporting by Habib al-Zubaidi in Hilla and Waleed Ibrahim and Aseel Kami in Baghdad; writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Giles Elgood)