A suicide bomber who detonated his explosives near one of Shiite Islam’s holiest shrines killed more than 40 people today.

An explosion near one of Shiite Islam’s holiest shrines killed at least five people, and the death toll was expected to rise, Iraqi police said today.

AT least 43 people were killed and another 89 injured yesterday in three car bomb attacks near a bus station and hospital in Baghdad.

Three car bomb attacks near a bus station and hospital in Baghdad killed at least 43 people and wounded another 89 today, in the deadliest attacks in the capital in weeks. Survivors searched through charred buses and cars for signs of friends and relatives.

Car bombs tore through a Najaf funeral procession and Karbala’s main bus station, killing at least 60 people and wounding more than 120 in the two Shiite holy cities.

CAR bombs rocked Iraq’s two holiest Shi’ite cities yesterday, killing at least 60 people and wounding more than 120.

Car bombs rocked Iraq’s two holiest Shiite cities today, killing at least 60 people and wounding more than 120, while in Baghdad dozens of gunmen carried out a brazen ambush on car, killing three employees of the organisation running next month’s elections.

At least seven people were killed and 31 injured today when a bomb exploded at the gate to one of Shia Islam’s holiest shrines in Iraq, hospital officials said.

Heavy gunfire and explosions were heard today in the holy city of Karbala, where American troops are battling fighters loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Black smoke rose near the Imam Hussein shrine, one of the most sacred sites of Shia Islam.

A series of mortar blasts shook parts of Baghdad tonight.