Female Suicide Bomber Kills 39, Wounds Dozens In Karbala
Pictured: Cleaning up what’s left at the very popular Imam Hussein shrine.
KARBALA, Iraq — A female suicide bomber detonated her explosives-laden vest near a Shiite shrine killing at least 36 people on Monday in the central Iraqi city of Karbala, police and health officials told AFP.
The attack came as US Vice President Dick Cheney visited Baghdad on a surprise trip and met several US and Iraqi leaders to discuss the recent improvement in security across the country.
At least 50 people were wounded in the blast which occurred near the revered Imam Hussein shrine, said Alaa Hamud Dadair, head of Karbala’s health directorate.
The bomber was a woman, a local police officer said on condition of anonymity, adding she blew herself up near the shrine among a crowd of people.
An AFP correspondent at the site said several ambulances and police vehicles ferried victims to hospital following the blast which occurred around 100 metres (yards) from the shrine, located in the centre of the city.
The correspondent said the powerful explosion ripped people apart, sending body parts flying. Many bodies were charred.
Salim Kadhim, spokesman for the Karbala health directorate, said seven Iranian pilgrims were among those wounded in the blast.
Soon after the attack, police in Karbala, 110 kilometres (70 miles) south of Baghdad, imposed an indefinite curfew in the central districts of the city.
Insurgents have targeted the Shiite shrine city on a number of occasions in the past five years.
(AFP)
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