Second blast to hit Karbala checkpoints in week

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: An explosion on Sunday occurred near a checkpoint in downtown Karbala, the second of its kind to hit the city in one week, according to a local police source. “A sticky improvised explosive device (IED) detonated inside a vehicle near a checkpoint close to the Civil Defense Department (1 km away from the Imam Hussein Mosque),” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. The source did not give further details. On Oct. 26, a Kia-modeled vehicle detonated near a checkpoint in northern Karbala, killing three persons, including a woman and a cop, and wounding eight others, including children. The holy Shiite city of Karbala lies 110 km southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SS (P) 1