BAGHDAD - TWO car bombs tore through parking lots packed with Shi'ite pilgrims on Monday in an Iraqi holy city, pushing the death toll from a week of attacks to more than 170.
The uptick in violence poses a major test for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's new and somewhat shaky coalition government as followers of a powerful Shi'ite cleric and key ally demanded he fill key security posts.
The blasts struck Karbala as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims were massing for religious rituals marking the end of a 40-day mourning period for the Islamic sect's most beloved saint.
The first attack occurred about 7am in a parking lot near busloads of pilgrims on the eastern outskirts of Karbala, 90km south of Baghdad. Police and hospital officials said that six pilgrims were killed and 34 people wounded in that attack.
Another bomb was discovered nearby and dismantled before it could explode, police said. More than four hours later, a second explosion struck pilgrims on the southern edge of the city, killing at least 20 people, including two soldiers, and wounding 42, the officials said.
There is a vehicle ban in Karbala for the holy period so pilgrims are dropped off at parking lots and walk in. The police and hospital officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to release the information. -- AP
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