Blast In Iraqi Holy City Kills At Least 40

Karbala (file photo) (epa) 5 January 2006 -- More than 40 people are dead after an explosion ripped through a crowded street near the Imam Hussein Shrine in the southern Iraq city of Karbala. Authorities are blaming a suicide bomber for the attack.

The shrine is among the holiest for Shi'ite Muslims.

Iraqi television showed body parts and clothing lying in pools of blood.

It was the second blast in Karbala in as many days, following a period of relative quiet in the city.

The attack comes after a wave of violence killed more than 50 people across Iraq on 4 January, including a suicide attack that killed more than 30 mourners at a Shi'ite funeral.

(compiled from wire reports)