At least 55 killed on way to evening prayers in carbomb attack in Karbala, police fire guns in air to disperse angry crowds after

Above: Evening prayers at the Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala. Left: Crowds gather after today's bombing.


A parked car exploded Saturday near one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines in the city of Karbala as people were headed to the area for evening prayers, killing 55 people and wounding dozens, officials said...

The blast occurred a few hundred yards from the Imam Abbas shrine, setting several cars on fire and causing chaos in the area. The explosion took place as the streets were killed with people heading for evening prayers at the Abbas shrine and the adjacent Imam Hussein shrine, two of Iraq's holiest Shiite shrines.

After the blast, angry people gathered the blast site, many of them searching frantically for missing relatives. Some began to throw stones at the police, accusing them of failing to protect the people.

Police fired weapons in the air to disperse the angry crowds.

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