Car bomb kills seven in Iraqi holy city

At least seven people were killed in a car bomb blast in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, Iraqi officials said today.

Police and hospital officials said several Iranian pilgrims were among those who died in the attack, which also injured at least 30.

The car bomb exploded at 8.30am local time in a car park in the centre of Karbala, 50 miles (80km) south of the capital, Baghdad, police said.

It was not immediately clear how many of the dead were Iranian.

Alaa Abdul-Zahra, a doctor at Karbala’s al-Hussein hospital, confirmed the death toll.