Iraq: Deadly bomb attacks leave 30 dead

Iraqi officials say at least 30 people have been killed in a series of bomb attacks targeting Shi'a pilgrims celebrating the festival of Ashura. This has been one of the deadliest number of attacks to date. A car full of explosives blew up as a procession of pilgrims passed through the al-Nil area, north of the city of Hilla.

According to local security officials 16 people were killed, among them women and children. Later, in two separate attacks at least 11 pilgrims died when a bomb went off in the capital city of Baghdad. And in another separate incident at least eight were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near a convoy of pilgrims in the northern district of Urr, while the other three were killed in Mashtal, in the city's east.

Explosive devices were also detonated near groups of pilgrims in the centre of Hilla and in the town of Latifiya, to the north, also leaving three people dead.

The violence came a day before the commencement of the religious festival , which has been a cause of sectarian violence since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. It is estimated that almost 200 people were killed in November, some are worried that the ongoing violence will increase when more than 10,000 US troops withdraw from the country by the end of the year.

Sources: Reuters, BBC News, WSJ

For more news and expert analysis about Iraq, please see Iraq Focus.

Iraq: Two bomb explosions hit the holy city of Karbala

Iraq's Interior Ministry has said that two car bombs have exploded in the holly city of Karbala killing more than 18 Shi'a pilgrims in the city for Arbaeen, a religious observance and one of the holiest days in the Shi's calendar. It is estimated that at least 55 people were injured in the explosions.

The first bomb exploded in the morning while the pilgrims were disembarking from buses in the holy city, south of Baghdad. It was reported that six people had been killed in the first blast and 34 injured. The second bomb, which exploded several hours later, killed 10 pilgrims and two soldiers, and injured 21. The third explosive device was detected and defused.

All vehicles are banned from going into the city centre as pilgrims continue gathering for their ritual marking of the end of a 40-day mourning period for Shi'a Muslims' most beloved saint Imam Hussein, whose death in battle near Karbala cemented the historic Sunni-Shi'a split.

Around 30,000 Iraqi security forces have been deployed to the city to bolster security for the ritual, which culminates on Tuesday 25th January. No singular group has claimed responsibility for the latest attack, but it is believed to be the work of extremists linked with the Al-Qa'ida or Sunni militants. The Karbala explosions come four days after multiple bombings that left 50 people dead and 150 wounded, most of them Shi'a Muslims.

Sources: CNN, Xinhua, The Guardian, Al-Bawaba

For more news and expert analysis about Iraq, please see Iraq Focus.