Blast rocks holy Karbala

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: Several casualties were reported on Thursday morning as a blast ripped through a checkpoint in Karbala province, according to eyewitnesses. “A blast believed to be the result of an improvised explosive device (IED) occurred near a checkpoint in al-Jamaliya area, al-Hurr district (8 km west of Karbala), leaving several casualties, including police personnel who were at the scene at the time of the explosion,” an eyewitness told IraqiNews.com. “Ambulances were immediately on the scene to transfer the victims,” the eyewitness noted. No comment was immediately available from the security apparatus. Karbala, with an estimated population of 572,300 people in 2003, is the capital of the province and is considered to be one of Shiite Muslims’ holiest cities. The city, 110 km south of Baghdad, is one of Iraq’s wealthiest, profiting both from religious visitors and agricultural produce, especially dates. It is made up of two districts, “Old Karbala,” the religious centre, and “New Karbala,” the residential district containing Islamic schools and government buildings. At the centre of the old city is Masjid al-Hussein, the tomb of Hussein Ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad by his daughter Fatima al-Zahraa and Ali Ibn Abi Taleb. Imam Hussein’s tomb is a place of pilgrimage for many Shiite Muslims, especially on the anniversary of the battle, the Day of Ashuraa. Many elderly pilgrims travel there to await death, as they believe the tomb to be one of the gates to paradise. On April 14, 2007, a car bomb exploded about 600 ft (200 m) from the shrine, killing 47 and wounding over 150. SS (S) 1