Four successive blasts in the Iraqi city of Kerbala killed at least 17 people and wounded dozens more as they lined up outside a local government building, police said today.
The first bomb ripped through a crowd of guards and civilians gathered in front of an office issuing ID cards and passports, and three other explosions went off shortly after as emergency services arrived at the site, police said.
Panicked security guards fired shots in the air to keep onlookers away after the blasts tore the front off nearby buildings and set ablaze cars parked on the street.
"When people and security personnel were busy evacuating the dead and the wounded, another three explosions hit the place, causing more casualties," a Kerbala police official said.
Mohammed al-Moussawi, chairman of the Kerbala Provincial Council, blamed al Qaeda affiliates for the attack.
Kerbala, a major Shia holy city 80km southwest of Baghdad, has often been attacked in the past by Sunni Islamist insurgents targeting Shia pilgrims who flock to the city's religious sites.
A suicide bomber targeting pilgrims on their way to Kerbala killed four people and wounded 17 others on Thursday.
Violence has eased since the height of sectarian strife in 2006-2007, but insurgents tied to al-Qaeda and Shia militias still carry out almost daily attacks that are testing Iraq's government as US troops prepare to withdraw at the end of the year.
Agencies