SOCIETY
CAR BOMBS IN IRAQ SHRINE CITY KILL AT LEAST 20
Baku, July 27 (AZERTAC). Two car bomb blasts near the Shi`ite shrine city of Karbala in southern Iraq have killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 50 others.
Iraqi officials say the attacks targeted Shi`ite pilgrims heading to Karbala for an important Sh`ite holiday this week. Earlier Monday, another car bomb exploded in front of the Baghdad offices of Al-Arabiya television, killing at least four people and wounding 16 others. Al-Arabiya staffers said the explosion badly damaged the building and left a huge crater. Iraqi officials had previously warned the network about the threat of an insurgent attack.
Monday`s bombing was not the first time Al-Arabiya has been targeted in Iraq. The network`s Baghdad bureau chief escaped harm in 2008 after a bomb was found strapped to his car. The Arabic-language station is owned by Saudi Arabia and based in Dubai.