BAGHDAD – Two car bombs targeting Shiite pilgrims during a religious festival in the holy city of Karbala killed 25 people on Monday, Iraqi police and hospital officials said. Sunni extremists are suspected.

Militants detonated two parked cars filled with explosives about two miles apart as crowds of pilgrims passed by. Police and medical officials in Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, said 68 people were injured in the attacks.

Additional Photos

The Associated Press One line for cutline goes to b Shiite Muslims gather at a shrine in Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq, to mark Shabaniyah, Monday, July 26, 2010. Two car bombs targeting Shiite pilgrims during a religious festival in the holy city of Karbala killed scores on Monday, Iraqi police and hospital officials said. The pilgrims were on their way to Karbala to take part in an important religious holiday, known as Shabaniyah, that attracts devout Shiites from around the country. (AP Photo/ Ahmed al-Husseini)lafjdsl;kfjasdl;kkjfasdlkkjflaksdkjflkaskdjfl;kkasjdlk;fkjasdl;kjf
The Associated Press One line for cutline goes to b Shiite Muslims gather at a shrine in Karbala, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq, to mark Shabaniyah, Monday, July 26, 2010. Two car bombs targeting Shiite pilgrims during a religious festival in the holy city of Karbala killed scores on Monday, Iraqi police and hospital officials said. The pilgrims were on their way to Karbala to take part in an important religious holiday, known as Shabaniyah, that attracts devout Shiites from around the country. (AP Photo/ Ahmed al-Husseini)lafjdsl;kfjasdl;kkjfasdlkkjflaksdkjflkaskdjfl;kkasjdlk;fkjasdl;kjf ASSOCIATED PRESS

The pilgrims were on their way to Karbala to take part in an important religious holiday, known as Shabaniyah, that attracts devout Shiites from around the country.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Monday bombings, but the method is the hallmark of Sunni extremists.

While violence has dropped dramatically in the past years in Iraq, suspected Sunni insurgents regularly target Shiite religious ceremonies and holy places in an attempt to re-ignite sectarian tensions that brought Iraq to the brink of civil war in 2005 and 2007.

Earlier Monday in Baghdad, a suicide bomber driving a minibus blew himself up in front of the Baghdad office of a popular Arabic news station, killing six people.

The attack at the offices of pan-Arab news channel Al-Arabiya was a reminder of the persistent dangers both Iraqi and foreign journalists face in the country.

Al-Arabiya is among the most popular Arabic news stations. Militants view it as pro-Western, and its journalists have been singled out for attacks in the past.

 

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