79 killed in Iraq suicide attacks

Suicide bombers targeted Shiite pilgrims in the south and police recruits in central Iraq today, killing almost 80 people in a stepped-up line of attacks.

Today’s bombings come after 53 people were killed yesterday, including 32 at a Shiite funeral east of Baqouba.

The suicide blast near the Imam Hussein shrine in central Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, killed 49 people and injured 52, said Karbala police Colonel Razaq al-Taie.

Pools of blood lay at the blast site, and television images showed men ferrying the wounded in pushcarts.

The bomber appeared to have set off the explosion only about 30 yards from the shrine in a busy pedestrian area surrounded by shops.

In Ramadi, police and hospital officials said at least 30 people were killed and 40 injured in a suicide bomb attack on a line of police recruits.